Waking Dreams
by abrokencastiel
Summary: Sam and Dean stopped Azazel before he could let Lilith out. The Apocalypse never happened. Bobby, Ellen, and Jo are still alive. Dean and Sam are kickin' butt and takin' names! But then Dean starts having odd dreams... Who is this trenchcoat guy and what does he mean Dean's dying? WARNING: Character Death.
1. Prologue

**Hey all!**

**It's been a while since a fic and with Super on another hiatus I'd do a little something. I've been working on it a while and will update it daily, though the chapters will be pretty short.**

**Just a heads up, italics are in the dream world. Also, the different chapters will be time jumps.**

**I don't own Supernatural.**

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><p>Dean rarely dreamt, usually too tired or on edge. But on the rare occasions he did it was usually not filled with the monsters he hunted. Instead they were of his mom, his dad, the family life he never had. The life he wished Sam and he could have grown up with. Over the years, more people had joined his dream world. Jess, Jo, Ellen, Bobby, Lisa, Ben. People the brothers had loved and a few they had lost.<p>

"_Hello Dean. . ."_

Dean's dream faded as he woke slowly to the light streaming in through the slits in the curtain covered windows. The beams bounced off the dust that floated through the air of the musty hotel room. He groaned and blinked, rolling onto his back not wanting to get up.

"Good morning," Sam said from the table where he was busily typing on his laptop. The table rocked ever so slightly despite the book Sam had jammed under a leg the night before to steady it.

"What time is it?" the older Winchester asked as he sat up and ran a hand through his short hair. His squinted eyes made it difficult to read the clock setting on the bedside table. He reached for it and brought it closer to his face when Sam spoke.

"Almost noon. I got you coffee, but it's been sitting for a few hours."

"Why didn't you wake me?" Dean swung his legs off the bed and started gathering his clothes, a deep cough escaping as he moved. "We gotta get back on the road."

Sam shrugged. "I tried, but you were really out. I figured a few more hours wouldn't hurt. I mean, we just finished that big case with the witch. And that cough sounds terrible."

"There are always more out there, Sammy. We gotta keep movin'." Dean brandished a toothbrush at his younger brother emphasizing his words.

"Right, the family business."

"Don't forget it." He winked then disappeared into the bathroom for a shower.

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><p><strong>That's the end of the prologue :)<strong>

**Cute, right? Brotherly love? If only it would last.**

**Let me know what you think. Should I continue? I know there isn't much to work with here but yeah...**

**See ya all tomorrow!**

**~DarkAngel**


	2. The Cookout

**Hey guys!**

**Sorry, meant to upload this yesterday but I'm helping my cousin write another fic (SPN/WD Crossover) and got distracted. It's called ****_The Consequence of Choice_****.**

**Anywho. Here's the next chapter. :)**

**I don't own Supernatural.**

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><p><em>"Burgers are done." John Winchester picked up a plate in each hand and moved to the picnic table. He slid into a seat next to Mary who gave him a kiss on the cheek.<em>

_"This salad looks beautiful, Mary," Jess said as she took the bowl from Sam. The couple were practically in each other's laps, one of Sam's arms wrapped protectively around her while she leaned against him._

_"None of that rabbit food for me." Dean waved the bowl away when it was offered to him, going instead for the burgers._

_"Dean, you can't live just on that greasy crap. No offense, Dad."_

_John rolled his eyes and smiled. "You're just saying that because you haven't tasted these babies yet."_

_"We brought some chips." Ellen pulled open the bag and passed it to Jo. "Maybe we should have brought more than one bag." She turned to smile at Bobby. They leaned in for a kiss._

_"Aw, come on, Mom. Not at lunch," Jo chided. "Save it for the honeymoon."_

_"Where you guys goin' anyway?" Dean asked in between bites._

_"We were thinking Mexico. Maybe Cancun."_

_"Where ever she wants to go," Bobby added._

_Light laughter came from everyone at the table. A sudden breeze and a rustling sound caught Dean's attention. He looked up across the table and sitting between Jess and Mary was a stranger. He was studying a sliced carrot with great intent._

_"Who the hell are you?" Dean demanded. No one else at the table seemed to notice the new addition._

_The man looked up, his piercing blue eyes a sharp contrast to his dark hair. "Dean—"_

The alarm woke Dean with a start, the incessant beeping jolting from his dream. He rolled over with a groan and sat up, a cough escaping. Sam was gone, probably out for a run or getting coffee. Dean rolled his shoulders and stood to go get ready.

"Alright, Sammy. Let's move." Dean slipped on his dad's old jacket and swung his bag over his shoulder. As he walked, he could feel the weight of their dad's journal bounce against his chest, tucked safely in the inside pocket.

Sam followed suit with his own bag and trailed his brother out to the old Impala. Dean patted the hood affectionately as he walked to the driver's side and slid into the seat, slamming the door in sync with Sam. Dean started the car and began to back out, covering a cough as he did. "You still got that?" Sam asked.

"Yeah. Just a cold I need to shake." He cleared his throat.

"This cold's been going on for weeks. Maybe you should get it checked out."

"Come on," Dean scoffed. "I feel great."

"You won't feel great if that cough gets us caught on a hunt. Last time we were after a Wendigo it almost killed us because you started hacking up a lung."

Dean rolled his eyes and started down the road. "I'm fine, Sam."

"Whatever you say." Sam knew Dean wouldn't admit to feeling bad even if both his legs were cut off. It was worse than trying to get him to talk about his feelings.

"Where to now?" Dean asked directing the topic away from himself.

"Well, there's been a few odd disappearances around a little town in Maine, or we could head out to Washington state, there were a couple of strong reports of vampires."

"Love killin' vampires." Dean's laugh degenerated into a rough cough that he tried to hide.

Sam glanced sideways at him but said nothing.

Dean hesitated before changing the subject. "I, uh, I had that dream."

"The one with mom and dad?"

"Yeah." Dean smiled at the thought of both their parents alive and well. "And you were dating Jess. And everyone was happy, and we were having a cook out with Bobby and Ellen and Jo." Dean grinned. "Bobby and Ellen were married."

Sam laughed. "Maybe we should suggest that next time we see Bobby."

"Crazy, right?"

"I just can't see us all having a normal get together like that."

Dean almost frowned, recalling bits and pieces of his dream. "It wasn't exactly normal. Something was a little odd about it."

"What? The fact that it was normal?"

Dean shook his head. "I can't remember."

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><p><strong>Good? Bad? Ugly?<strong>

**Let me know! I'll try to fix it if something doesn't sound right. I'm very open to constructive criticism. **

**Hope you enjoyed it and the next will be up possibly tonight, definitely by tomorrow.**

**~abrokencastiel**

******FYI I just changed by pen name so its the same as the blog I have on tumblr. Previously MyDarkAngel710, and I'm too lazy to go back and change the DarkAngel sign offs to aborkencastiel. Sorry.**


	3. House of Vampires

**Look at me the over achiever! Two chapters in 24 hours! I wouldn't suggest getting too used to it. I'm usually terrible at this.**

**Anyway, I don't own Supernatural.**

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><p>The dank old house was lit only by the few beams of light that could make their way through the broken shutters. Dean kept his machete ready and flashlight moving, his eyes searching for any strange movement or objects.<p>

A creak from the second floor drew Dean's attention, but he knew Sam had taken the stairs. His main focus was finding the door to the basement. Dean rounded a corner and his light landed on a slightly rusted door handle. Carefully, he reached out and tested the knob. It gave way beneath his fingers and the door swung toward him, revealing a dark staircase down.

"Gotcha." He grinned to himself. He glanced toward the front of the house to see if Sam had come back down. There was no sign and instead of waiting like he knew he should have, Dean began going down the stairs. He cupped the head of the flashlight to dim the light and hopefully avoid waking any sleeping vampires. There should only be a few from what the brothers had seen. Two males and a female. Of course, that didn't mean there wouldn't be a few surprises hidden in the dark corners. The last step groaned loudly as Dean stepped on it and he immediately moved so his back was against a wall. If there were any windows in the basement, they had been blacked out to create the perfect vampire home.

There was a shuffled to Dean's left and he brought the light up just in time to see a man sneaking toward him. Without hesitation, Dean swung the machete and beheaded the vampire. The body fell to the floor with a thump and the head rolled beyond the flashlight's radius. Dean cursed and let the full light shine around the basement. A flash of movement sent Dean rushing after the other man who was trying to escape up the stairs. The meager sunlight was enough to temporarily blind the vamps enhanced eyesight and Dean quickly caught and decapitated him, letting the body fall down the stairs.

There was a cry from the top of the stairs and Dean automatically ducked, barely missing the female who went sailing over his head as she lunged. Her flailing hands caught his jacket and dragged him down the stairs after her. Dean fought to keep her teeth from him, dropping his machete and flashlight in the tussle and fall.

"Sam!" he yelled. He tried to punch the vampire away but she grabbed his hand and forced it away.

A muffled cry was heard above and Dean yelled again. "Basement!"

"Dean!" Loud footsteps rushed down the stairs and the vampire let out a scream as Sam jerked her back. She was quickly dispatched as Sam swung his own machete against her neck.

Dean rolled onto his side, hacking into the dust on the floor.

"Are there any more? Dean! Are there any more?" Sam stood with machete at the ready, turning to look in all directions.

"No," Dean gasped between coughs. "No, we're good. We're good."

Sam hauled Dean to his feet and helped him to sit on the stairs. The coughing finally subsided by the time Sam retrieved Dean's flashlight and machete. "You okay?" Sam asked as his eyes moved over Dean looking for any obvious injuries.

"Fine." Dean's voice was suddenly hoarse and he attempted to clear it before continuing. "I think the dust got to me."

"You ready to burn the bodies? We should get out of here before someone gets suspicious."

"Right, yeah." Dean stood and blinked away the sudden dizziness that overtook him.

"I'll get the stuff from the Impala."

Once Sam had disappeared, Dean let himself lean against the railing. He nudged the female vamps head with his boot.

The three vampires were neatly stacked with heads on top by the time Sam returned. The brothers covered the pile with lighter fluid and Sam struck the match before they hurried out of the house.

"Dad's old proverb, right? Never leave a body unburned." Dean grinned in Sam's direction as they sped away.

Sam snorted and shook his head.

"Where to next?"

"Not sure. We could always call Bobby, see if he has anything. Or we could stop by the Roadhouse. Visit Jo and Ellen. See what Ash can find for us."

Dean shrugged and nodded. "Sounds good to me." Dean turned up the music and stepped on the gas.

In the rearview mirror, a small smoke curl was forming from the house.

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><p><strong>I'm sorry these are all turning out as short chapters. But the shorter they are the sooner I get them uploaded XD They might get longer eventually.<strong>

**Sorry there was no dream in this episode, just didn't fit in to what I gots goin.**

**Read and Review! I live for them and will update faster ;-)**

**~abrokencastiel**

**P.S.**

**I probably should have said this earlier, but this fanfic was actually a brain-child of me and my cuz Fallings Just Like Flying. You should check her out. The idea came to us from the song Imaginary by Evanescence. Great song.**


	4. The Roadhouse

**Sorry for the long break! I changed the pacing of the story a bit so had to make sure to fix it before I went on!**

**I don't own Supernatural**

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><p><em>"Boys!" Mary called from the beach. "Don't go too far. We're having dinner soon!"<em>

_"No worries, Mom!" Sam waved back at Mary and Jess who sat under an umbrella._

_"Heads up, Sammy!" Dean warned as the football torpedoed toward Sam. Dean grinned proudly as his younger brother caught the ball one handed and sent it back. The throw went wide and the football sailed down the nearly empty beach. Dean jogged after it. "We still gotta work on your aim," he laughed over his shoulder. He bent to retrieve the ball which had rolled to a stop inches from the shoes of a man._

_Dean straightened and frowned as he gave the man a once over. The trenchcoat and suit were definitely not the usual beach attire. The man seemed to be sizing up Dean as well, his head cocked to one side and a slight frown wrinkling his forehead._

_"Dude, you might wanna rethink the shoes."_

_"Why?" the other man asked in a gravelly voice that didn't seem to fit his body._

_"You're on a beach. Usually its sandals or barefoot." Dean saluted with the football and ran back towards his brother._

_"Who was that?" Sam asked._

_"No idea. Some weirdo with shoes." Dean brought back his arm and watched the ball as it arched through the sky, disappearing momentarily against the bright sun._

The cough jolted him awake. He muffled the sound against the crook of his elbow, but Sam shifted in the driver's seat to look at his brother anyway. Dean waved away the concerned look. In that hazy, half-dream state of just waking up, Dean could still see the unknown man in his mind's eye, looking at him in that odd way. He had a nagging feeling like he'd seen him before, but with each passing second of wakefulness the feeling and the memory were fading.

Dean laid his head back on the headrest, trying to hold on to the slivers of his dream that were important, his smiling mom, his carefree brother, attempting to etch them into his brain as real memories. The man with shoes was forgotten in light of the more important people.

"Woke up just in time." Sam parked and turned off the ignition. "We're here."

"That didn't take long." Dean stretched and blinked the sleep from his eyes.

"You just slept for seven hours. I even stopped for gas and you didn't wake up."

"You mean I missed a chance for pie? Son of a bitch," he mumbled as he left the car. The Roadhouse looked the same as always. The neon sign buzzed in the dimming daylight. Sam rolled his eyes and got out of the car, grabbing his bag out of the backseat. Dean moved to follow, surprised by how tired he still was. Usually he bounced right back from a nap. Maybe he slept too long. His own bag's heaviness surprised him and he grunted as he shouldered it, a little winded.

"What'd you put in here?"

"What do you mean?" Sam frowned back at his brother. "I didn't do anything."

"Sure." Dean brushed past. "Come on. I could use a drink."

The Roadhouse was quiet. The usual bunch wouldn't show up for a few hours more, out finishing jobs and the like. Jo was behind the counter, wiping down some pint glasses and putting them away. The clinking was interrupted by the brothers' entrance.

"Closed. Open at six." Jo said without looking up.

"No exceptions?" Dean smiled as Jo looked up shocked.

"Sam! Dean!" She hopped over the counter in one smooth motion and ran to give the brothers a quick hug. "What are you guys doing here?"

"We're in-between jobs. Just thought we'd stop by and see if you guys knew of anything," Sam explained.

"Mom's out getting pretzels. She'll be back soon. I think Ash is in his room, but I'm not sure if he's actually awake. Haven't heard him all day."

"We can wake him up." Dean dropped his bag on a table and marched over to Ash's door. He banged on it, making "Dr. Badass is In" sign swing. "ASH! YA IN THERE?" he yelled. A moan and a dull thumping sound came through the door. "I CAN HEAR YOU. COME ON OUT!"

Muffled cursing and the sound of empty beer cans being crushed proceeded Ash cracking open the door and peering out. His mullet stuck out oddly and his narrowed eyes weren't impressed with the Winchester. "What the Hell you doin' here?"

"Nice to see you too, Ash." Dean grinned.

"Don't you know not to wake a man when he's sleeping?"

"Aw, come on Ash. You know you like to see us."

Ash continued to stare shrewdly at Dean. "That all you want for me?"

"Actually we were wondering if you had anything for us to go after. You being you and knowing everything and all," Sam said as he joined Dean at the door.

After a few more seconds, Ash sighed and relented. "Guess I gotta go put on some pants then." The door shut and the brothers exchanged a triumphant glance.

"You guys want a drink?" Jo had gone back behind the counter and had already pulled out three beers.

Dean coughed into his elbow, the simple act escalating into one that had him stopped and hunched over. Sam paused half-way between the bar and his brother, a concerned look on his face as he tried to decide whether he should go back or not. "Phew," Dean said as he stood back up and saw the confirmed faces of Jo and Sam. "I'm good, I'm good. How about that beer."

The three drank and shared stories until Ellen came back.

"Well, look at what the cat dragged in," she said as she plopped a bag down on the counter and hugged the boys in turn. "Dean, you need to get some meat on them bones! You guys must be working too hard."

They all laughed a bit, but Dean noticed Sam had that look on his face he got when he was overthinking and worrying. Before he could question his brother, however, Ash burst from his room and sauntered to the bar. "Ya all gonna start the party without me? I don't think so." He grabbed the pretzel bag and ripped it open. "The party don't start till the mullet says it does." He grinned and crunched a few of the salty snacks. "Oh, and I think I might have found somethin' interesting for you guys down in Georgia. Shapeshifter or somethin' terrorizin' a small town."

"But that can wait until we catch up. Don't need you boys rushin' off when you just got here."

The talk dwindled to less pressing things. Stories from the road and the bar passed the time and soon other hunters were joining the small group until the Roadhouse was full of old friends, challenging the brothers to games of darts and telling big fish stories.

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><p><strong>There it is! Finally! I just really wanted to get the Roadhouse in here, some Jo and Ellen and Ash fun. <strong>

**Hope you liked it. Read and Review! The story will start pickin' up now. Promise.**

**~ABrokenCastiel**


	5. Skinwalker

**Sorry for the long gap. I'll get at least two chapters up tonight.**

**Don't own Supernatural**

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><p>"Dean, you should really get at least some medicine for that cough." The brothers sat in a Starbucks watching their target, a suspected skinwalker, who was currently eating in the diner across the street. "Not just for you, but I can't take waking up in the middle of the night anymore."<p>

Dean rolled his eyes and downed the rest of his coffee. "This stuff was so not worth the $5.50 I spent on it." he crushed the cup in his fist, hoping once again his statement would project the topic away from his stupid cough.

The man they were watching left the diner and started down the street. The Winchesters immediately stood to follow. Dean covered his mouth and coughed a few times, earning a glare from Sam. "Fine, as soon as we take care of this guy I'll get some cough crap."

"I just hope whatever you have doesn't get me. I hate being sick."

"It's been months. If you were going to get it, you would have already gotten it. Besides, it's nothing. Not even sick." This was the closest Dean would ever come to admitting he was even possibly not feeling well. Dean tossed his crushed cup in the trash as he headed out the door. "Our man's on the move."

Sam sighed tiredly as he followed his brother. Dean was always hard headed, and his health was no exception. He seemed to think that because he dealt with vampires, werewolves, and demons, a simple disease couldn't touch him. More than once Sam could remember Dean becoming practically bedridden because he refused to treat a cold when it first started.

"He went down this way." Dean turned into an alley, pulling out his gun as he did. Sam did the same, mirroring Dean's steps in the narrow corridor. A trashcan tipped over down the alley. Dean motioned with two fingers the way his father used to. Their footsteps were silent as they walked. A rustling sound was ahead of them, just around a corner.

The alley widened a bit and Sam moved next to Dean. He glanced over at his older brother. Dean's face was twitching. Sam wondered for a second if maybe Dean was trying to tell him something, then he realized Dean was just trying to hold back a cough.

Sam mouthed, "No."

Dean was turning purple and his hands were starting to shake from holding it back.

Sam adamantly shook his head while glancing between his brother and the corner, his eyes wide.

With a gulping sound Dean shoved his face in the crook of his left arm, his green eyes watering, letting out a soft hmf. That small sound alerted their target, who immediately went silent.

Sam grimaced and raised his weapon higher as he spun around the corner. The next alley was empty. The litter of the knocked over trashcan covered the ground, obviously clawed through, but whatever had been there was gone. "Good job, Dean."

"It's not my fault," Dean choked out between coughs.

"If you had taken care of that cough earlier—"

"Shut up."

A sudden bark erupted behind Sam and a large black dog knocked the tall man aside as it lunged for Dean. The dog knocked Dean to the ground, making his gun fly out of his hand. The dog grinned down at him, a deep growl rumbling in its throat.

"Sam!" Dean yelled instinctively, holding the giant dog at bay. It's snapping jaws were inches from his face.

"Hang on!" In the initial attack, Sam had also dropped his gun.

"Hang on? Sam!"

"I know, I know!" Sam snatched the weapon from under an old egg carton and in one swift motion aimed and shot at the animal. The dog screamed a human like whine and leaped away, stumbling down the alley the way it had come. Sam aimed carefully and shot once more, making the dog fall. He let out the breath he had been holding and rushed to Dean. "You okay? He didn't bite you?"

"No, I'm fine." Dean allowed Sam to help him up, wheezing slightly. "Did ya get him?"

Sam nodded but kept his gun aimed. He didn't need to worry. The skinwalker was dying. He had half-turned back into a human, tangled among the garbage bags. He snapped at Sam weakly, blood oozing from the two bullet wounds. His nose twitched when Dean walked up, and an ugly grin spread across his features. His teeth were still somewhere between human and animal, as were his eyes. He babbled some gibberish in a harsh half-bark before finally taking a last shuddering breath.

"Guess the diner food wasn't good enough for him." Dean bent over, his hands on his knees, and coughed some more while Sam gave him a knowing look. "Alright," he relented. "Let's get some cough meds."

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><p><strong>Short, but the next one will be up lickity split<strong>

**Read and Review!**

**~abrokencastiel**


	6. The Park

**Wow! Look at how fast that was? Huh? It seems like I posted the last chapter only minutes ago. XD**

**I don't own Supernatural. But I do own a dog.**

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><p><em>It was a park on a warm fall day. The perfect day. Right before it got too cold, but after the summer heat. Dean was walking alone across a park toward a Biggerson's. He knew his family was meeting him there. He stuck his hands deep in his pockets and strolled without hurry. He had all the time in the world. They wouldn't eat without him and he had no pressing issues to worry about.<em>

_A dog barked and ran after a ball its owner threw. Its golden fur flashed in the sun as it happily returned the toy._

_"You know," a deep voice said. "Dogs are pretty amazing creatures."_

_Dean turned to the bench behind him. A man in a trenchcoat sat there staring at the dog. Realization struck as he remember seeing the man before. He was the same man from the beach in the exact same outfit, shoes and all. In fact, Dean could almost recall him from a few other times. Dean shook the feeling away. "I'm not really a fan."_

_"I see." The man looked at Dean with piercing blue eyes. "Still, you shouldn't dismiss them. Sometimes they know things before people do. If you pay attention, they can hint at something bigger."_

_"Right." Dean rolled his eyes and edged away from the strangely familiar man. "You keep on watchin' that dog. See if it tells you something." He turned and walked away._

_"Dean." The man was right next to Dean even though he hadn't heard him approach._

_"Whoa!" Dean said, taking a quick step back. "Personal space, buddy."_

_The man said nothing. He simply touched Dean on the forehead with two fingers._

Dean bolted straight up in bed, wide awake. His quick motion roused Sam from his own light sleep.

"What? What happened?" he asked, his long hair stuck out at odd angles from his head and a knife was at the ready in his hand.

"Nothing. Just a dream."

Sam gave a tired look to Dean before flopping back down onto the bed. "Tell your dreams to tone it down."

Dean rolled his eyes and lay back down as well. There was no way he would be able to get back to sleep. He could still see the trenchcoated man when he closed his eyes, could see him reaching out and felt the touch of two fingers against his forehead.

Careful not to wake Sam, Dean eased out of his bed and went to the bathroom. He splashed water on his face and rubbed at the middle of his forehead where the ghost fingers lingered. A cough built in his chest and he tried to fight it down.

Once, when he was young, probably fifth gradish and at a school-of-the-week while his dad was on a hunt, the teacher took one look at his pale face and sent him to the office. The administration tried to get ahold of John Winchester for hours before giving up. Dean wasn't surprised. Dad was on a hunting trip and sometimes wouldn't even pick up if Dean himself called. The nurse wouldn't let him go back to class for fear of infecting the whole school, so she had Dean with her all day. She tucked him into the cot and took his temperature every half-hour. The one thing he remembered years later was her telling him to close his eyes and imagine his white blood cells fighting his fever. How they hunted down the bad guys in his body, infection and sickness, and destroyed them. Now Dean closed his eyes and imagined little soldiers running around, fighting off whatever was causing the cough. He would never admit to anyone this was what he did when he was sick. It was childish, but it was all about convincing himself he wasn't sick. The cough he'd been holding back broke free and he braced himself on the counter. He spit the phlem that came up into the sink, washing it down trying to ignore the crimson that swirled into the drain with the water.

Eventually he fell back into his usual fitful sleep. This time as he slipped into unconsciousness he wasn't greeted with blissful dreams or visions. Instead his mind kept him alert, even in sleep, in case one of the night time stalkers they hunted tried to take him or Sam.

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><p><strong>Another shortish chapter, but I'm trying to not skip time within chapters so yeah...<strong>

**Read and Review! I'll put the next one up soonish... hopefully... maybe today...**

**~abrokencastiel**


	7. Country Road

**I don't own Supernatural. And I sorta lied about the dog. It's my parents dog.**

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><p>"Sam, maybe you should drive." Dean tossed his brother the keys and used the Impala for support as he moved to the passenger side. "I think I'm going to take a nap."<p>

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I just took some of that medicine." Dean coughed and slid into the seat, spitting onto the concrete before closing the door.

Sam started the engine, his face pensive.

"What's that look for?" Dean sighed.

"What look?"

"That look."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You know, that look you get. The one that's all 'I'm not happy but I'm not going to say anything. I'm just gonna mope.' That face."

Sam shot a look at Dean.

"And there's the bitch face."

"Fine. You want to know what's been bothering me? It's you. You've been sick for months with that cough and I can't deal with worrying about you on a hunt and keeping myself safe."

"I'm taking the medicine. Not much else I can do."

"You could go to the doctor." Sam turned his head to stare at Dean.

"Dude, keep those eyes on the road." Dean pointed out the windshield.

"I'm serious, Dean. I know you don't really care about yourself but after losing Dad and almost losing you with the electrocution and the car crash—"

"I thought we agreed not to dwell on that stuff."

"Dean, I—"

"Drop it, Sam. And I'm serious about the road. Eyes front."

Sam gritted his teeth and drove forward a few hundred feet, then slammed on the breaks and veered to the side of the empty country road. Dean held on and felt his stomach flip at the sudden motion. "Nope, Dean. I can't. You're all I got left and if I lose you I'm going to go crazy. Mom, Jess, Dad, all my friends at college. Madison. I've lost almost everyone I've gotten close to and I can't stand to lose another one. So, whether you want to or not, you're going to a hospital."

"You're not going to stop, are you?"

Sam smiled tightly with a slight shake of his head.

Dean sighed. "Let's make it quick then."

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><p><strong>Just a set up and some friendly(?) brother banter. The next chap should be up within the hour.<strong>

**Thanks for reading and double thanks to those of you who reviewed! It gets me motivated to write more XD**

**~abrokencastiel**


	8. Exam Room A

**I don't own Supernatural. What I do own are four betta fish. Elsa, Olaf, Eeyore, and Murphy.**

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><p>The fluorescents of the small exam room made the sterile whiteness even more excruciating. Dean had no idea where Sam was, but he vowed to one day make him suffer the same ordeal.<p>

"Probably enjoy it," Dean mumbled. He picked at the paper gown the nurse had requested he put on. No way was he going to do that. That thing looked like it wouldn't cover more than one arm and he did not want to get naked with a doctor until they had at least shared a drink. He had undressed down to his T-shirt and jeans and that would have to do.

A knock grabbed his attention and he glanced up just as a younger female doctor walked in. Probably fresh out of medical school. Maybe he should have put on the gown. She took a seat at the small desk.

"Hello there Mr. … Stark?"

Dean nodded with a broad smile.

"Great. My name is Dr. Conor. I see this is your first time with us."

"Yeah, just moved in a few months ago."

"Mmhmm." She tapped a few buttons on her tablet with her stylus. "Now just some general questions. Do you smoke?"

"Once in eighth grade. Didn't work for me."

"Drink."

"Oh yeah."

"How many would you say you have on a weekly basis?"

"High twenties."

"How active are you? Lot of time on the couch or very active?"

"My job keeps me pretty active."

"And are you sexually active?"

"That's a little personal there, ain't it Doc?"

Dr. Conor raised an eyebrow but didn't look at him. "Please answer the question."

"Yes." Dean rolled his eyes.

"And when was the last time you had a physical?"

"Uh, I don't remember. Been a while."

"I see that you came in complaining of a persistent cough?" She squirted some hand sanitizer on her hands and rubbed them together as she talked.

"Yeah. Started months ago. I think I'm fine but my brother wanted me to get checked out."

She stood and put on her stethoscope. "Would you describe it as a deep cough or more in your throat?"

"Uh, deep?" Dean flinched as the cool metal of the stethoscope touched his back beneath his shirt. "Coulda warmed that up a bit."

"Sorry about that. Breath in for me. And out." She listened intently to both lungs. "And is your cough productive? Mucus? Blood?"

"Yeah." Dean was getting an uneasy feeling his appointment wasn't going to be short and sweet.

Dr. Conor removed her stethoscope and moved back to her chair. "You said this cough has been going on for a while? Any other issues? Nausea? Weakness?"

Dean shrugged. "Not too bad. I'm more tired than normal and I've been feeling a little carsick lately. Having some chest pain." Dean erupted into a bad coughing fit without warning. Dr. Conor quickly handed him a napkin to cough into. A blood tinged glob of sputum ended there.

"Actually, don't throw that away." She held out a plastic bag and Dean deposited his tissue in there. "I'd like to have someone take a look at this, if you don't mind waiting."

"No problem, Doc."

She left, leaving Dean alone again. He sat for a few moments to make sure no one was coming in right away, then whipped out his phone.

"Dean?"

"Sammy! Listen, ya gotta come pick me up." Dean began rifling through the cabinets to see if there was anything of use as he talked.

"Are you done?"

"No, but when have we ever waited to be done with a hospital?"

"Well, do you at least have some medicine?"

"No. And the Doc isn't gonna let me off easy. She's doing some extra tests. I don't like extra tests Sammy."

"Come on, Dean."

"You come on, Sam!" Dean slammed the cabinet shut and began pulling on his jacket.

"Dean, calm down and do what the doctor says."

"I swear to God if you don't come over here and pick me up I will—" A knock on the door cut Dean off.

"I'll call ya back." Dean snapped the phone shut and smiled as the doctor entered. "Brother."

Dr. Conor sat down and motioned for Dean to do the same. "I'm afraid. It's not concrete, but there were a few strange cells in your sample that have me concerned. I need to run some bloodwork and I'd like to send you for a CAT scan or at least an x-ray. I don't know if there's anything to worry about yet, but I would much rather be safe than sorry."

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><p><strong>Things are heating up!<strong>

**Read and Review!**

**~abrokencastiel**


	9. Castiel

**I don't own Supernatural. However, I'm getting a hamster tomorrow so I will own that.**

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><p><em>Dean was dreaming. He was well aware of it. One of those lucid dreams where he could make anything happen. Of course, he had conjured himself a slice of apple pie. The amazingly hot waitress serving him came to check up on his progress.<em>

"_Everything good so far?"_

"_Everything I could ask for." Dean wiped his mouth and smiled at his dream waitress. "Anything I can do for you?"_

_She smiled slyly and moved closer, but before she could say anything another voice interrupted her._

"_Dean, we need to talk."_

_Dean turned to find the strange trenchcoated man from the beach and the park. "Not now, can't you see I'm busy with—." Dean looked back at the waitress, but she was gone. "Great. She's gone. Took me a long time to think her up."_

"_Dean." The dark-haired man did not look amused._

"_Why have you been stalking my dreams anyway? This better not be some Freud bullcrap."_

_The man cocked his head. "I don't understand that reference."_

"_Of course you don't." Dean leaned back and propped his feet up on the table. "Just tell me what you want so I can get back to my good dream."_

"_I'm here to tell you that it's your time."_

_Dean frowned. "What do you mean?"_

"_You don't need to be afraid."_

"_What the Hell is this?" Dean stood and stared at the other man._

"_I'm supposed to help you. I've been trying for a while."_

"_Who even are you?"_

"_I'm Castiel."_

"_Well, Castiel, you obviously don't know anything about me."_

"_Dean—"_

"_No, I don't have to listen to this. This is my dream." Dean snapped his fingers to make Castiel disappear, but nothing happened._

"_It won't work, Dean."_

"_Listen, whatever you are—"_

"_An angel."_

"_What?"_

"_I'm an angel of the Lord."_

_Dean blinked a few times and snorted. "You can't be serious."_

"_I assure you I am."_

"_Yeah, and I'm John Elefante."_

_Castiel cocked his head and furrowed his brow. "But you're not."_

"_I need to stop drinking before bed." Dean rolled his eyes and sat back down. "I'll tell ya what. You delivered your message. I'll consider it, so you can go. Leave me be." Dean shut his eyes and leaned back in his chair again. He thought he heard a ruffle of feathers and felt a whoosh of air. The next time he opened his eyes, Castiel was gone. The waitress was nowhere to be found either._

Dean woke suddenly. The conversation from his dream was still fresh in his mind as he ruffled through Sam's things and dug out the laptop. His fingers shook as he typed 'angel castiel' into the search engine. He cursed under his breath and shook his hands violently to get them to stop. The first link was some website about all sorts of angels. He quickly skimmed until he found Castiel's name.

"The angel of Thursdays and travel." He half-laughed at himself for even looking it up, but he kept reading any way. There were a handful of supposed encounters at the bottom of the page. Most were the bright light crap, but a few seemed more reasonable. One in particular mentioned a dark-haired, blue-eyed man with a gravelly voice. More importantly, the man was in a tan coat.

"Dean?" Sam's sleepy voice interrupted Dean's thoughts. "What are you doing?"

"Uh, well, ya know."

"Are you on that porn site again?"

"Yeah! Yeah. Busty Asian Beauties. You caught me." Dean quickly closed the browser and powered the laptop down. "Didn't mean to wake you up. Sorry."

"Just don't download anything. I can't deal with another virus." Sam flipped over and was quickly snoring again.

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><p><strong>This isn't lookin' good for Dean... But at least Cas has gotten his name!<strong>

**Read and Review! I live for it!**

**~abrokencastiel**


	10. Exam Room B

**I'm makin' pretty good time right now. Hopefully it will last.**

**I don't own Supernatural.**

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><p>Sam and Dean sat in the thick silence of the stuffy exam room. Another doctor had been running the majority of tests on Dean the past two days, but Dr. Conor had been the main relay. Dean had to admit he was a little happy that she hadn't backed out in the end.<p>

"I'm sorry." She said it in the same way Dean and Sam had said it to a hundred other people when there was nothing more they could do.

"So, what do we do next?" Sam asked.

"Well, we could always do chemotherapy or radiation. Or a combination. Surgery isn't plausible with how big the tumors are and the location of the one in the brain ."

"Okay. We can do this." Sam glanced between Dean and Dr. Conor.

"Mr. Stark," she said. "I really need you to understand that you don't have long. Maybe six months with vigorous treatment." She hesitated and glanced down at her tablet. "I can give you the number of our counseling service. They can help you deal with the questions you might have. Also, I can get you an appointment with the best oncologist around. He owes me a special favor that I can call in for. We can probably get your treatment started by the end of the week."

_It's your time. _Dean shook his head. "No."

"Dean?" Sam looked at his brother with that concerned look he always gave.

"I don't want to do treatments."

"Dean, what are you saying?"

"I mean, what good will a few extra months do for me anyway? Just put you in debt. Can't have that, can we Doc?" Dean grinned at her.

She didn't smile back, but she didn't contradict him either. She understood where he was coming from.

"Dean, I'm not going to let you do this."

"Sammy—"

"No, you're not giving up like that."

Dean rolled his eyes. "Come on now, Sam. Let's not talk about it here. We'll argue later. Right now, I'm starving." He stood and nodded at Dr. Conor. "Thanks, Doc."

"Call if you have any questions." She handed her business card to Dean and let the brothers leave.

Sam managed a smile at the receptionist and filled out the paperwork with their phony information. Dean's little brother had come a long way from his Stanford days. Dean had to admit he was proud little Sammy could lie so well. Maybe he'd be fine without his big brother.

How easily the thought came to Dean caused a cold chill to cross him. He knew he shouldn't give up that easily, but after a lifetime of running away from things that could kill him it was almost nice to have something that he couldn't beat.

Sam laughed as he said goodbye to the receptionist, but as he turned away his smile melted to a deep frown. "Come on." He glared at Dean and led the way out.

The drive to the hotel was silent. Sam turned off the radio as soon as they got in and Dean decided to pick his battle. They started to pack right away, maintaining their silence. Who knew when the hospital would get wise to their fake identities now that they were officially not going back.

"Hey, Sam, check it out." Dean grinned and held up a five dollar bill. "Found it under the bed."

Sam froze as he was throwing clothes into his bag, his hands clenching into fists. "Great, Dean, and what are we going to do with that? Set up your funeral fund?"

"Aw, come on, Sammy. Let's not do this."

"No, I really think we should do this. Dean, how could you just." Sam moved his hands, like he was trying to grasp the right word. "Give up?"

"I'm not giving up."

"Really? It sure seems that way. You just refused treatment."

"And what good will it do? You heard what the doc said. No cure. Just buy me a bit of time."

"Enough time for us to find someone to heal you."

Dean gritted his teeth. "We're not doing that again, Sam. Last time I took someone else's life. I'm not going to take another chance."

"But Dean—"

"No, Sam. Out of the question ." Dean grabbed his bag and stomped out the door. He threw it into the trunk of the Impala and coughed harshly into his elbow. The words of the angel in his dream kept circulating in his head.

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><p><strong>Read and Review<strong>

**~abrokencastiel**


	11. Gas Station Stop

**I don't own Supernatural. But I officially own a hamster named Diego now :)**

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><p>Sam didn't say more than two words to Dean for the next three days. Just gave him looks. Dean didn't offer up conversation. He knew Sam was mad and there was no reason to try and force his brother to accept anything. It would just make things worse.<p>

Dean sighed and shifted in the passenger seat. He didn't exactly like not driving, but he'd started letting Sam take most of the shifts. He'd woken up from his latest nap as Sam had pulled into a gas station. Just like Sammy to pull over for no reason. Baby wasn't in need of gas and dinner wasn't for a few more hours. He pulled out the prescription bottle and picked at the label. Some anti-nausea crap. He shoved it away again as Sam appeared in the gas station door.

"Here." Sam slid into the driver's seat and held a paper bag out to Dean. The gas station mascot grinned in a lopsided teal color.

"What's this?" Dean peered in and instantly broke into a smile. "Awesome." Dean pulled out the slice of pie.

"Sorry it's not warm. Their microwave was broken."

"Pie is pie, Sammy. I don't discriminate."

Sam smirked with a snort and started the car as Dean took his first bite.

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><p><strong>A short blib, but at least I updated something. I'll put a longer chapter up tonight.<strong>

**Read and Review!**

**~abrokencastiel**

**P.S. Apologies for the giant flub I made on Sam! For some possessed reason I put he went to Harvard instead of Stanford. I have since corrected that problem. My bad! If you have no idea what I'm talking about, then you didn't see anything... O.o**


	12. Mary

**I'm on a roll! Look at all these on time updates!**

**I don't own Supernatural**

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><p><em>"Don't worry, Dean. Angels are watching over you." His mom brushed his hair back and kissed his forehead before tucking the blankets around him. She smiled and turned out the lights as she left.<em>

_Don't go, he wanted to say, but he didn't. He was a big brother now. He couldn't be crying about the dark anymore._

_He turned to look at the little angel statue that sat on the shelf above his bed. As he looked at it, it moved. The white hair changed to black and the porcelain eyes blinked into a brilliant blue. Slowly, the chubby body slimed and the cherub wings grew and wrapped around the body, morphing into a trenchcoat._

Dean woke gasping for breath, his heart racing. His head pounded and his chest burned. Was it a dream or a memory? Or a strange mixture of the two? Instead of dwelling on it, he dry swallowed some aspirin and forced his heart to slow.

One thing was for sure, he wasn't going to sit around and let some creepy ass angel keep showing up without his consent.

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><p><strong>Ok so this one was short too, but I'll get the next part up lickity-split I pinky promise!<strong>

**Read and Review!**

**~abrokencastiel**

**BTW**

**THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU FOR READING AND FOLLOWING AND REVIEWING AND SENDING ME NICE MESSAGES AND I LOVE YOU ALL AND yeah I'll stop now but for reals, thanks! I love ya all!**


	13. Bobby

**I don't own Supernatural.**

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><p>"Bobby, hey, is there any way I can control my dreams?" Dean glanced over his shoulder to where Sam was buying the day's on-the-go dinner from the gas station Burger King.<p>

"Why, ya not havin' good dreams?"

"I need to do a little diggin' and I think this is the best way." Dean started the gas pump to top off the Impala. He rolled his shoulders to try and relieve the dull ache around his chest.

"I'll see what I can dig up for you. Did ya tell Sam?"

The brothers were almost back to normal. Sam was still acting a bit like Dean was an invalid, but at least it was getting better. "Naw, he's got enough to deal with."

"Seems you got a lot to deal with, too." A slight hesitation on both ends. "Do you need to talk about it?"

"Yeah, then we can have a Hallmark moment with a big reunion with Ellen and Jo and everybody." The pump stopped and Dean shoved the nozzle back into its holster. He glanced back in time to see Sam leaving the cashier. "I'll call you later." Dean hung up just as Sam got to the car.

"Who was that?"

"Bobby. Might have a case for us to check into."

"You sure you're up for it?"

"Sam, I already told you, it's no different than before. We just gotta keep working." Dean slid into the driver's seat and grabbed the burger Sam offered him.

"I don't understand how you can eat that." Sam shuddered at the greasy bun.

"You only live once, Sammy, and I intend to eat every deliciously greasy thing I can." Dean grinned through his stuffed cheeks.

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><p><strong>If you add the last three up they will make one good long chapter, just in doses XD<strong>

**Keep readin' and reviewin'!**

**~abrokencastiel**


	14. African Dream Root

**I don't own Supernatural.**

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><p>Dean sat alone in the fast food restaurant. Sam was off doing research, which Dean had quickly talked his way out of, saying he'd canvas the area. He had done just that until he smelled the food and decided it was time for a burger break. Though now he was almost regretting his choice as he stared at his burger. His phone rang, breaking his contemplation.<p>

"Bobby?"

"I think I found what you're lookin' for. It's a thing called African Dream Root. You make some tea and put in a piece of DNA of the person who's dreams you want to enter and la di da your havin' a party with Abe Lincoln and Johnny Cash."

"Lincoln and Cash? That's your idea of a party?"

"Don't change the subject."

"Okay, so I just put in a piece of my hair and I'm in charge?"

"Seems that way. I'll try to locate some for you."

"Thanks, Bobby." Dean hung up and stared at his burger with only two bites taken out of it. With a grimace and a sigh, he dropped it in the trash.

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><p><strong>Next chapter will be up probably today! It should be pretty long compared to these last few.<strong>

**Read and Review!**

**~abrokencastiel**


	15. Motel

**I don't own Supernatural. But I do own the banana I just ate. Well, did own it when it existed...**

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><p>It took almost a week for Dean and Bobby to track down all the ingredients behind Sam's back. In that time Castiel hadn't made anymore appearances that Dean could remember. Dean had also broken down and started taking pain medication once headaches had gotten bad enough.<p>

"What's that?" Sam asked, looking up from where he had collapsed on his bead

"Sleepy time tea." Dean kept stirring the russet colored liquid in his mug.

"You having trouble sleeping?" Sam frowned.

"Naw, just thought it might make me cough less."

"Right." Sam sat up and faced his brother. "Hey, uh, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry if it seemed like I was pushing you. I wouldn't want you to force me to do anything and—."

"Hey, it's fine. Believe me, I wouldn't let you lie down." Dean half-laughed. "In fact, I probably would have locked you in a room until you were better or somethin' else crazy like that." He sniffed the tea experimentally, frowned, and poured in another three packs of sugar.

"Isn't that a little excessive?"

"Sugar makes me sleepy." Dean took a sip and fought back the gag.

Sam rolled his eyes and lay back down.

Dean sat on his own bed and downed the rest of the concoction before he could think better of it. Immediately he felt the effects, barely managing to mumble a night to his brother before passing out.

..

_Dean found himself in a crappy motel room, not unlike the one he has just fallen asleep, only empty besides the bed he was on. He stood and frowned. It was creepy how non-dreamlike it was._

_"Okay, well, how about a gun?" He'd always felt more secure with a weapon and was pleased when one appeared on the bed. "Awesome." Dean checked his clip._ _Probably wouldn't be helpful at all, but at least he felt safer. He conjured up a table and some chairs. Demon traps popped up on the ceiling and floor, a silver cup filled with Holy water on the table. He didn't know if any of these would work, but he sure as Hell was gonna try._

_"Alright, Castiel, why don't you fly your feathery ass on down here." Dean waited, unsure if it would actually work or not. The moments ticked by in that weird dream way. "I know you can hear me, you son of a bitch."_

_"Hello, Dean." The closeness of the voice made Dean jump back, whacking his knee on a chair. He was slightly surprised to find that it still hurt, even in a dream._

_"Jesus." Dean raised the gun without thought._

_"I don't see why that is necessary. You called me."_

_Dean frowned and lowered the weapon after a moment's hesitation. "Right."_

_"I wouldn't work anyway." He walked to the table and picked up the glass of Holy water to study it. "Holy water doesn't affect me. Neither does iron or demon traps." He set the glass back down and looked at Dean unblinking. "Is that the only reason you summoned me? To test me?"_

_"I summoned you because I want to know what the hell is going on."_

_Castiel cocked his head. "Going on?"_

_"Yeah. What are you? My subconscious? How did you know I was . . ." Dean trailed off._

_"Dying? I told you, I'm an angel. I know many things. The state of your health is a small detail."_

_"How do I know you aren't lying?"_

_"Your mother always said angels were watching over you, and she was not wrong."_

_Dean suddenly remembered his nightmare. "Did you give me that dream?"_

_"I was hoping it would explain in a more comforting way."_

_"That thing was creepy as Hell."_

_"Hell isn't creepy. Terrifying, but I wouldn't consider it creepy."_

_Even in a dream the literal angel was giving Dean a migraine._

_"I sense you still have doubts about my identity."_

_"You hit the nail on the head, Sherlock."_

_Castiel stared at Dean for a few uncomfortable seconds, then the lights in Dean's dream room started flickering, dimming, and popping. Castiel's shoulders flexed and on the wall behind him a shadow of giant wings appeared. A cold chill ran up Dean's back._

_"I hope that is proof enough," Castiel said as the lighting returned to normal and the shadow faded._

_Dean shrugged._

_"I could also reveal my true form, but that would most likely be too much for you."_

_"What? All angels don't walk around looking like holy tax accountants?"_

_"No, I assure you, my true form is roughly the size of the Chrysler Building and revealing it may blind you."_

_"Ok then, we'll avoid that." The two stared at each other. "So what do we do now?"_

_"That is up to you, Dean."_

_"Well, seein' as you have control of my dreams more than I do, I'm not so sure about that."_

_"I can make it so you are aware of your dreams without use of the Root."_

_"That'd be nice. That stuff tastes like ass."_

_"And I can answer any questions you might have." Castiel looked up and Dean followed his gaze, but saw nothing besides the ceiling. "For right now, I'm afraid I must go. Sam is trying to wake you."_

_"What do you mean? It's only been ten minutes."_

_"Time passes much differently in your sleep, Dean." Castiel reached out and touched two fingers to Dean's forehead._

_.._

"Dean!" Sam's concerned voice finally got through to Dean and the older brother sat up.

"I'm awake, I'm awake."

"That tea must have really knocked you out. I don't think you even moved." Sam was trying to joke, but Dean could see the concern on his face.

"I'm fine, Sammy." Dean smiled. "Best sleep I've had in weeks."

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><p><strong>See? Much more of a chapter chapter than the last shorties I've written.<strong>

**Read and Review! You all are angels!**

**~abrokencastiel**


	16. The Lake

**I don't own Supernatural. I do own a fiery red car named Charlie. (Yes she's named after SPN Charlie)**

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><p><em>"What kind of name is Castiel?"<em>

_The angel sat beside Dean on the dock, the worn chairs perfectly comfortable. "What do you mean?"_

_"I mean it's long. One syllable names are the name of the game."_

_"Game?"_

_"How about Cas? That sound good?"_

_"It's not really my name."_

_"That sign wasn't Prince's name either, but it didn't stop him from using it."_

_The angel frowned but didn't object._

_"So, Cas, does every good little boy and girl get an angel on their way out?" The bobber of Dean's fishing line rocked lightly in the still lake._

_"By definition you are neither good nor a little boy." Dean shot him a look and Cas sighed. "And no. Most are taken by Reapers."_

_"Reapers? Like the grim kind?"_

_"Most don't appear that way. They can actually be quite pleasant."_

_Dean filed the information away to add to the journal. "What makes me so special I get you?"_

_Cas looked at Dean peculiarly. "Because you are incredibly important. Without realizing it, your brother and you stopped the worst circumstances from happening and probably saved all of mankind."_

_Dean blinked in surprise and snorted. "You've gotta be kiddin' me."_

_"I'm serious, Dean. Azazel's plan went far beyond your own family. If he had succeeded, he would have unleashed things worse than you can even imagine."_

_"Like what? The end of the world?" Dean's laugh died when he saw the look on Cas's face. "You have got to be joking."_

_"The apocalypse is not a joking matter."_

_"The apocalypse? Like with Lucifer and fire and brimstone? The whole nine yards?"_

_Cas nodded. "More or less. If the Devil had been let free to roam the Earth I can only imagine the havoc he would have unleashed."_

_"Right." Dean's brow furrowed and he pulled experimentally on the line. Nothing pulled back._

_"You don't seem to believe me."_

_"I believe things when I see them. Not sure if you exist still. __Could be ."_

_Dean couldn't say for sure, but Cas looked a little put out by the comment. "Look, nothing against you." Dean sighed. "Sam's the believer. Not me."_

_Cas frowned and opened his mouth to say something but Dean stopped him._

_"I don't want a sermon." His line pulled suddenly and Dean stood to reel the fish in. "Why ruin a nice dream with angel debates."_

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><p><strong>Sorry it's been a bit. Havin' some car issues that kept me distracted.<strong>

**Anyway.**

**Read and Review!**

**~aborkencastiel**


	17. In Passing

**I don't own SPN. Or ESPN. Or ESP.**

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><p>"We are not going after a Wendigo." Sam firmly shook his head.<p>

"Ah, come on, Sammy."

"Nope. I agreed to keep hunting with you, not to feed you to a monster. Those things are fast and one look at you and it'd know you're easy prey."

Dean rolled his eyes but had to admit Sam was right. The mom and pop restaurant was quiet. The soup Dean had ordered wasn't his usual thing, but had sounded good when he'd ordered it. He sipped it from his spoon with a loud slurp, earning a glare form Sam. Dean pointed his spoon at his brother. "Ok, what then?"

"There were a few strange stories in Springfield, Ohio. Sounds pretty interesting. Supposed alien abduction. It's at a college campus."

"I love college."

"You never went to . . . Dean we are not going there for girls."

Dean just smiled and signaled for the check.

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><p><strong>Sorry this took so long! I was toying with this idea and I thought this would set up for a nice scene next time.<strong>

**ALSO have I mentioned that my awesome cousin is a comastermind of this story? No? WELL IM A JERK! Go read her stuff! It's fantastic! Her name is Fallings Just Like Flying and she's currently writing a great TWD/SPN fic called The Consequence of Choice. (I'm helping with that one, too)**

**Read and Review! I love you all!**

**~abrokencastiel**


	18. Shooting Range

**I don't own Supernatural.**

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><p><em>"I'm gonna kill him." Dean didn't even wait for Cas to appear before he started ranting. "That son of a bitch slashed my tires."<em>

_The rustling sound Dean had grown accustomed to announced Cas's arrival._

_"I mean, I know he's not as attached to Baby as I am, but slashing her tires?" Dean conjured up a beer bottle just so he could throw it at a wall._

_"Baby?"_

_"The Impala. Sam slashed her tires. I can't drive her if the wheels are slashed," he explained when Cas just stared at him._

_"I see." The angel nodded thoughtfully._

_Dean huffed and turned around. A gun materialized in his hand at the same time as a row of pictures of Sam making stupid faces. Dean started shooting rhythmically at them._

_Cas watched for a while quietly, but eventually interrupted. "I am confused. I thought you loved your brother."_

_"I do," Dean said between shots. "I just really hate him right now. Do you have siblings?"_

_"Yes."_

_"Do you always just want good things to happen to them? Or do you sometimes just want to pop them right in their smug face." He emphasized each word with a shot._

_Cas frowned._

_"There's no way that you get along with them all the time."_

_"I suppose not. Once Balthazar blamed me for the destruction of a city, but it was actually him and no one listened to me."_

_"See? Wouldn't you like to take out some of that anger? And by doing it in a dream there are no repercussions in real life. Here." Dean tossed the weapon toward the angel. "You try."_

_Cas turned to the pictures that were now generic stick figures of angels with wings and halos. "Balthazar does not look like that."_

_"Well, the only angel I can base him off of is you so this will have to do."_

_Cas's brow furrowed and he looked between the gun and the pictures._

_"You're telling me you don't know how to shoot?"_

_"In theory." He held out the weapon in an easy grip, the weapon listing slightly to the side. "I am much more accustomed to my angel blade." The angel straightened the gun and pulled the trigger without hesitation. The loud retort and backlash didn't seem to effect Cas in anyway. Not a flinch or a blink. The bullet hit directly above the crudely drawn halo._

_"Not bad, Tex. But not great either. Support the gun with both hands and aim down the barrel, don't just point in a general direction." Dean waited expectantly._

_Castiel sighed and shot again, this time hitting the center of the halo._

_"Are you trying to hit the halo? I mean, is that your guys' weak spot?"_

_"I was aiming for what represented angels. I thought the halo was the most appropriate mark."_

_It was Dean's turn to sigh and rub a hand over his face. "The point of this is to kill your target, not to make it not an angel."_

_"In that case." A silver blade dropped from the sleeve of Cas's trenchcoat and into his empty right hand. With a flick of his wrist, he propelled the blade deep into the chest of the drawn angel. "Angels can be killed by only a few things. An angel blade is the most effective."_

_Dean walked over and pulled the weapon out. "This little thing?"_

_"I assure you, it's extremely effective." Cas gave the gun to Dean and took his blade. "I would never actually use it unless extremely necessary. Even this exercise makes me uncomfortable." Cas touched the paper and the cut and bullet holes disappeared. "Just as I'm sure you would never use any weapons on Sam. Especially not for something as meaningless as vehicle tires. Besides, it seems to me the real issue is something more than brotherly frustration."_

_Dean raised an eyebrow._

_Cas shook his head slowly. "It doesn't seem like Sam would do this. Not if he knew it would cause you this much distress."_

_Dean looked down at the gun and when he looked back up, Cas was gone._

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><p><strong>Hey all! Look at that. Another chapter all ready.<strong>

**I must be on a roll tonight.**

**Read and Review! I see you following! (which I love, but I'd love to hear if there's something I could do better. Constructive criticism.)**

**~abrokencastiel**


	19. Trickster

**I don't own Supernatural, but I did just save thirty dollars on groceries by buying the next month worth of food in Ramen. Yay college!**

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><p>Dean finished writing the entry on Tricksters in the journal. His hand clenched as the dull pain in his chest grew tighter. The pain pills didn't help as much as they used to and he was taking them more than recommended, but he didn't worry too much about long term effects.<p>

"Here. Anything else you can think to add?" Dean handed the journal to Sam who quickly scanned and shook his head.

"Looks like you got it all." Sam handed the book back and stretched. "That things getting pretty full."

"Dad did a lot of work."

"You've done a lot, too. Half of that has to be your additions."

"It's part of the family business."

"Saving people, hunting things, keeping a diary," Sam parroted in an impression of Dean's voice.

Dean rolled his eyes and coughed into a tissue, the iron taste of blood hinting in his mouth. He tucked the journal into his jacket pocket and slung his bag over his shoulder.

"Had you heard of tricksters before?" Sam asked, finishing packing his own bag.

"Never. Why do you ask?"

"You didn't seem surprised at all when Bobby said it wasn't me who slashed your tires."

"I figured you wouldn't have done it. You know how much Baby means to me."

Sam rubbed his neck and an embarrassed look crossed his face. "Guess I shouldn't have been so quick to blame you about my computer."

"Naw, you were justified. I've done it before. Probably will do it again."

"Better not." His face immediately dissolved into a warning.

Dean grinned and laughed, clapping Sam on the back as he headed for the hotel room door. "Where to next, Sammy?"

"Well, there's been two murders in Providence, Rhode Island." The brothers ambled down the hallway, enjoying not being in a rush.

"Regular murders or our stuff?"

"Well, they said they were told to kill by angels."

Dean froze mid-step, his breath catching. His stomach took a free-fall. A sudden coughing fit hit him and he leaned against the wall for support.

"Dean? You okay?" Sam immediately moved to help support his brother.

"Yeah, yeah." Dean shook his head. Angels. No way. It wasn't possible. "I'm fine." He frowned and blinked, trying to control his voice. "You said angels?"

"Yeah." Sam's forehead was wrinkled in worry. "Maybe you should sit down. You look really pale."

"No, I'm fine. Let's, uh, let's go." Dean pushed past his brother and hurried to the car. He got in the driver's side and took a deep calming breath while Sam threw the bags in the trunk. Even with his crystal clear dreams, there was no way Cas was actually real. Dean still only saw him as a strange conjuring of his subconscious.

"Do you want me to drive?" Sam asked when Dean didn't immediately start the car.

Dean shook his head and turned on the engine. He needed time to calm his nerves and driving was his go to option.

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><p><strong>Hey ya all. So I know that technically the trickster came after the angels, but I felt like I needed a bit of Dean starting to trust Cas before the angel debacle. Let's see how this plays out, shall we?<strong>

**Read and Review! Thanks to those of you who did!**

**~abrokencastiel**


	20. Driving Lessons

**I don't own Supernatural. Or an Impala. But I did see one in the parking lot I'm considering stealing...**

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><p><em>"Ok, now pop the clutch."<em>

_"I feel like this is not necessary."_

_"This is a dream, Cas. Nothing is necessary. Now go on." Dean waited patiently while Cas adjusted his hands before following Dean's directions. The car was an old manual Dean had driven before his dad had given him the Impala. It was a perfect replica down to the sticky stick shift and rust stain on the door. The car shuddered forward and Cas frowned._

_"Even if this wasn't a dream, I would still be able to fly where ever I wanted."_

_"Speaking of which, why can't I see your wings?"_

_"Your senses are too dull to perceive them."_

_"This is a dream." Something tugged at Dean's memory that he couldn't quite put his finger on, but he shooed the feeling away._

_"And I am still very real." The car sputtered and died. "And this is very frustrating. If this is a dream, as you keep saying, why is this so difficult?"_

_"Because I control the dream, and I'm making it realistic."_

_"So essentially this is real life."_

_"I guess." Again that nagging feeling._

_"So I am real."_

_Dean frowned. "Listen, Cas, we may be going to investigate some angel bullshit, but that doesn't mean you aren't a delusion." The feeling became one of urgency. Dean was forgetting something important. "If you aren't a delusion, prove it. Why don't you just pop up in the real world?"_

_Cas suddenly froze, cocking his head to one side. "Dean. You should wake up."_

_"Seriously? How hard could it be if you're really an angel?" Dean got out of the car and started walking away, a hand to his pounding head._

_"Dean, you need to wake up right now." Cas exited the car slowly, looking up at the sky with concern._

_"I can't believe I'm actually putting up with this." Dean was paying no attention at all, lost in his thoughts. "I mean, I put up with a lot of crap but this is ridiculous. I was told by my own mind that I need to give up, and I don't really want to."_

_"Dean!" Cas was suddenly in front of Dean. "Wake up!" He laid a hand on the side of Dean's face._

.

Dean jerked awake to the bright headlights and the blaring horn of the oncoming truck. He lurched the steering wheel to the side and slammed on the breaks, veering onto the shoulder of the road. Sam, who had been sleeping, smashed his head against the passenger window with a small cry off pain.

"What happened?" he asked, immediately awake.

"I . . ." Dean slumped against the steering wheel, his heart racing. "I think you should drive for a while."

Sam nodded. "Sure."

The night air helped clear Dean's mind in the few seconds it took for him to walk to the other side of the Impala. He sat heavily in the seat and rubbed his eyes.

"Why don't you try to get some sleep?"

Dean shook his head. "I think I've had enough sleep for a while."

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><p><strong>I got nothin.<strong>

**Read and Review if ya would!**

**~abrokencastiel**


	21. Magic Fingers

**I don't own SPN.**

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><p>Dean didn't even notice Sam come back. He was too busy enjoying the magic fingers of the bed and blaring his MP3 as loud as he could. He didn't look up until Sam slapped his foot.<p>

"Did you get any sleep?"

"Told you, Sammy, not tired." Dean propped himself up on his elbows.

"Dean, you didn't sleep the entire way here. You have to be a little tired."

"Nope. I'm good to go." He swallowed before his next question. "Did you learn anything from crazy lady?"

Sam frowned. "She's convinced she was told by an angel to kill that guy. That the angel came to her and said that she would see a sign and that she was doing God's work."

"Well, did you dig up any dirt on the dead guy?"

"No, clean as a whistle. The only real connection between the victims was they all went to the same church."

Dean groaned and let himself fall back on the vibrating bed. "I hate to say it, Sam, but it looks like we're going to church."

Sam shook his head and disappeared into the bathroom.

The vibrations stopped abruptly and Dean sadly looked at the 25 cent sign. "Ah, dammit. That was my last quarter. Hey! Sammy! You got any quarters?" He rose and crossed the room to lean in the doorway.

"Nope." Sam finished washing his face and reached for a towel to dry it.

Dean sighed in disappointment. "So, she seriously believes she was touched by an angel?"

Sam shrugged. "Yeah. Blinding light, spiritual ecstasy, the works." He half-laughed. "She's living in a locked ward and she's totally at peace."

"Sounds crazy to me."

"I'm not so sure. I mean, there's loads of lore on angels. More than any other monster we hunt. Why couldn't they be real?"

Dean was beginning to sweat. "Because I've never seen one." He turned abruptly and went to the table, pulling out his pistol as he sat down.

"So what? You and I have seen things that most people couldn't even dream about!"

"Exactly. With our own eyes. Hard proof. I've never seen anything that looks like an angel." Dean's chest was starting to burn and his head hurt. His hands were shaking a bit as he dismantled the gun. "This is a demon or a spirit. You know, they find people a few fries short of a happy meanl, and they trick them into killing these random victims."

"Maybe," Sam relented a bit. "But I was just at Gloria's apartment and there was nothing. No sulfur, no EMF." Sam shrugged.

"You didn't seen any fluffy white wing feathers?"

Sam sighed. "No, but Gloria did say she saw a sign right beside the victim's doorway."

"Could be something at his house." Dean finished putting his gun back together. "Let's go."

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><p><strong>Hey guys! So I was really suprised and glad you liked the last chapter. I almost didn't include it!<strong>

**Keep reading and reviewing!**

**~abrokencastiel**


	22. The Cellar

**I do not, have not, and will not own Supernatural. Ever.**

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><p>The decomposed skeletons grinned up from the pit the brothers had dug.<p>

Dean shook his head. "Monsters I get, Sammy. Humans not so much." He coughed harshly into his elbow and leaned heavily against the dingy basement wall.

"So much for the innocent churchgoing librarian."

"Yeah, well, whatever spoke to Gloria about this knew what it was talking about. I'll give you that."

"It had to be a pretty good thing to know about this. This was buried deep."

"Still not saying it was an angel. Maybe a sadistic demon who made him do it suddenly deciding to come clean."

"So you're saying a demon going good is more likely than an angel?" Sam rolled his eyes and started shoveling dirt back into the hole.

Dean sighed and pushed off the wall, ignoring the question. A brief dizzy spell blurred his vision, but Sam didn't notice and he didn't mention it. "Okay, so we fill in this hole, make an anonymous tip to the cops, and head over to the church."

"Sure summoning a crossroads demon isn't a more logical step?"

"Hey, cut the attitude." Dean paused to shoot his brother a look.

"Let's just get this done. Then we can discuss your demon theory."

Dean rolled his eyes but didn't feel like fighting. The conversation was sure to come up again later.

The pit slowly filled back in and the brothers packed down the dirt enough to make it look not just dug up. Dean was slightly out of breath by the end, an annoyance he tried to ignore. "You wanna make the call?" he asked as they made their way out of the storm cellar.

Sam nodded and pulled out one of their disposable cell phones.

Dean packed the shovels back into the car while Sam talked to the police hotline. A sudden nausea spell hit him, and he closed his eyes and hung his head to try and will it away. Physical activities used to have to be a lot more vigorous before he'd feel even a little piqued. He hated it.

"Okay, cops are on their way." Sam moved toward the Impala and Dean slammed the trunk.

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><p><strong>I'll get the next chapter up soon. Hopefully.<strong>

**~abrokencastiel**


	23. Memorial on the Stairs

**Own Supernatural I do not.**

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><p>The brothers got into the car, Dean giving one last glance at the church. "Well, sounds like it's not a demon." He was glad they wouldn't have to discuss that topic again.<p>

"Father Reynolds did start praying for God's help about the time all this started." Sam nodded.

Dean frowned. "Wait, what? I'm talking about ghosts. You still on the angel?"

"What do you mean?"

"It's gotta be vengeful spirit. Devoted Father Gregory gunned down on the front steps? No last rights? Probably knew all sorts of dirt on the victims."

Sam shrugged.

"Aw, come on. Look, I'll admit I'm a bit of a skeptic, but since when are you all Mr. 700 Club? Seriously. From the git-go you've been willing to buy this angel crap. What' next? You gonna start praying every day?"

"I do."

Dean was shocked into a few seconds of silence. "What?"

"I do pray every day. I have for a long time. Especially since you've gotten sick."

Dean blinked, unsure what to say.

Sam shook his head. "Look, I'm going to go look at the other victim's house and see if I can figure out what he did. How about I drop you off at the hotel? You look like you could use some sleep."

Dean didn't protest. He stared out the car at the small memorial on the steps as Sam drove the Impala away.

The car ride was dead silent besides the classic rock playing on the stereo. Dean didn't say anything even when they reached the hotel. He simply gave a small wave and disappeared into the hotel room as Sam drove away again.

Dean allowed himself to collapse on the bed, the impact dislodging some mucus in his chest. He coughed it up, chucking the tissue into the trashcan. He leaned back and within seconds had nodded off.

_He was driving in Baby. The windows all rolled down, Kansas blaring on the stereo. He smiled and breathed deeply, enjoying the fresh air. He had no worries, no problems. There was no job or research that had to be done. He was free._

_"Dean," the voice from the backseat caused Dean to swerve dramatically. _

_"Holy—" His heart raced as he willed the Impala back under control. "What the Hell are you trying to do, kill me?"_

_"No, I was just alerting you to my presence."_

_Dean gritted his teeth and squealed to a stop. "Well, I don't like your presence. Why are you here?"_

_Cas frowned. "I told you, I'm here to help. Though, it does seem like you have been avoiding me. This is the first time you have fallen completely asleep in days."_

_"Yeah, because I don't want to talk to you."_

_A confused look crossed the angel's face._

_"Listen, whatever you are. I'm not giving up. I'm not going to just lie down and die because you tell me to. So just get out of here."_

_"But—"_

_"Go!" Dean yelled. He felt something click in his mind. Something in a back corner that he didn't know was there. But as soon as it clicked, Castiel disappeared. Dean got out of the Impala and looked around. There was no sign of the trenchcoated angel. "Angels don't exist."_

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><p><strong>Look at that speediness. Vroom!<strong>

**Read and Review!**

**~abrokencastiel**


	24. The Crypt

**Hola Mishamigos! Or Jensonians! Or Padamooses!**

**I don't own Supernatural.**

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><p>It was night by the time Sam and Dean returned to the church to check out the deceased father's tomb. Their flashlights bounced off the dust in the musty air, giving an eerie glow to the chambers.<p>

"I gotta admit, Sammy, these still sorta creep me out."

"Crypts?"

"No, churches." Dean grinned impishly in the darkness. He could feel Sam rolling his eyes even though he couldn't see.

The brothers continued searching through the maze for Father Gregory's tomb. Dean led the way, sweeping the walls as he went. Finally, his light found Father Gregory's marker.

Dean knelt down and looked closely at the plan growing around the name. "Wormwood," he said with a curt nod. "Plant associated with the dead. Specifically the kind not at rest. Don't see it anywhere except over our murdered priest's marker, right Sammy?"

It took a moment for him to realize Sam was no longer behind him. "Where'd you get off to?" He sighed, hurriedly retracing his steps back to a room with a stone angel statue. His brother lay unconscious on the ground.

"Sammy? Sammy! Hey! You okay?" Dean worriedly helped Sam to his feet.

"Yeah, uh, I'm fine." Sam stared at the stone angel with a look of awe that Dean immediately understood.

"Come on." Dean led Sam back to through crypt to the exit in the sanctuary. He sat his brother down in a pew and began pacing in front of him. "You saw it, didn't you?"

Sam blinked and nodded slowly. "Yeah, Dean, I saw an angel."

"You. . ." Dean ran a hand over his face. "What makes you think you saw an, uh, angel?" He stumbled over the word.

"It just. . . appeared before me and I, I felt this feeling wash over me, you know? Like, like peace. It knew who I was."

Dean tried to ignore the feeling of déjà vu. He'd felt the same thing in some of his dreams with Cas. He shook off the feeling and continued his pacing. "It's just a spirit, Sam. Not the first one to read people's minds." He sat heavily on the pew next to Sam. "Let me guess. You were personally chosen to smite some sinner. You just gotta wait for some divine bat signal, that right?"

"Yeah." Sam shrugged.

"Great. Don't suppose you asked what this alleged bad guy did?"

"Yes, actually," Sam said with a slight bitch face turning on. "I did. And the angel told me. He hasn't done anything. Yet. But he will." Sam looked at Dean as if that was the most rational thing he'd ever said.

Dean shot up and began pacing again. "Okay this is. . . I don't believe this."

"You know what, Dean? I don't understand why you can't even consider the possibility!"

"What, that this is an angel?"

"Yes!" Sam stood and stopped Dean. "Maybe we're hunting an angel here. Maybe we should stop! Maybe this is God's will!"

"Okay, fine. You know what? I get it. You've got faith. That's—hey that's great for you. I'm sure it'll make things easier." He sat on the pew again and put his elbows on his knees, his hands limp. "I'll tell you who else had faith like that. Mom. She used to tell me when she tucked me in that angels were watching over us. In fact, that's the last thing she ever said to me." Dean shook his head.

"You never told me that."

"Well, what's to tell? She was wrong." Dean clenched his hands into fists. "There's nothing. No higher power. We're on our own here and I'm stickin' to that unless you got some hard proof. Because me, I've got proof this is a spirit and that's all it is."

"Dean?" Sam seemed to sense something else was going on."

Dan squeezed his eyes shut, his head hanging. "I don't wanna die, Sammy," he almost whispered.

There was a beat of silence that stretched into a lifetime. Finally Sam moved over and put a hand on Dean's shoulder. "Then we have to believe, Dean." Sam pulled Dean up and into a hug. "Because I don't want you to die either."

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><p><strong>Hello fair peeps!<strong>

**I hope that you liked the chapter! I'm workin' on the next few right now so as soon as I'm happy with 'em they'll be up. 'Course, I'm never satisfied so it might be a while...**

**Read and Review!**

**~abrokencastiel**


	25. Water

**I don't own Supernatural.**

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><p>Dean didn't dream that night. He slept, but he didn't dream. When he woke up, his mouth was dry and his head spun. It felt like the worst hangover he'd ever had, only the stabbing pain in his chest and back adding a new element. Sam was still asleep and Dean quietly went to the bathroom and started the shower. He took a few moments to stare at himself in the mirror while he waited for the water to heat up. His eyes were sunken and though he hated to admit it, his muscles weren't what they once were. He hacked up his now ritual morning phlegm, more blood in it than the day before.<p>

The water was burning hot but felt good on his sore muscles. The water vapor also seemed to ease the chest pain. He stood there in the falling water until he heard Sam moving in the other room.

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><p><strong>Sorry it was short! Felt like I needed it. Next should be up right now too.<strong>

**~abrokencastiel**


	26. The Man Prt 1

**See? Real quick like.**

**I don't own Supernatural.**

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><p>"Just a quick séance. If it's an angel, it won't show. If it's Padre Greg he'll pop right up." Dean handed the sack to Sam, reaching into his jacket to pull out more pain pills. His chest was burning more than it had in weeks.<p>

Sam looked into the sack and grinned. "Dude, I'll admit we've gone pretty ghetto with spellwork, but a Spongebob placement instead of an altar cloth?"

"We'll just put it Spongebob side down." Dean smiled back as he dry swallowed the pills.

Sam laughed, but stopped suddenly. "Dean, that's it."

"What?"

"That's the sign!"

"Where?" Dean looked confused around him.

"Right there! Right behind that guy! Dean, that's him. We have to stop him."

Dean turned to look at the young man Sam was pointing at. He didn't look like a criminal, holding a bunch of flowers and smiling into his phone. "That guy?"

The man crossed the street and Sam started to go after him.

"Wait a minute." Dean put a hand out to hold his brother back.

"What are you doing? Let me go."

"You're not going to kill somebody just 'cuz a ghost told you to."

"I'm not going to kill him, I'm just going to stop him." Sam looked anxiously after the man.

"Define stop. I mean, what are you going to do?"

"Dean, please. He's going to hurt someone!"

Dean sighed but knew his brother wouldn't drop it. "Alright, fine. Come on." He went to the Impala and got into the driver's seat before Sam. The man got in his own car and started it.

Sam noticed and hurried to the passenger side, surprised when the door was locked. "Dean, unlock my door."

"You're not killing anyone, Sam. I got this guy. You go do the séance." Dean pulled away before Sam could say anything else, following the man's car and leaving his brother with a Spongebob placemat and the most annoyed looked Dean had ever seen him have.

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><p><strong>Should have the next part up tomorrow!<strong>

**Am I handling this episode well? I mean, the majority of this part is taking place in it and I am changing some of the timing and words but am trying to stay really close.**

**Read and Review!**

**~abrokencastiel**


	27. The Man Prt 2

**Okay so I'm a day late... Sorry!**

**I don't own Supernatural**

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><p>Dean continued to follow the supposedly evil young man. So far, the guy had picked up a date and that was the most exciting thing. But Dean wasn't going to give up just yet. He'd promised Sam he'd keep an eye out and his brother had a point. The thing, angle or ghost, hadn't been wrong yet.<p>

The man's car rounded into a dark alley and Dean turned in a few seconds after. But the car was nowhere to be seen. "Dammit!" Dean slammed his hands on the steering wheel, searching for any sign as to where the car had gone. His head was beginning to pound again.

At the last second, he saw the gleam of a red taillight fading on a trash bin. He quickly followed, dimming the Impala's headlights in the closed space. The other car rounded the corner, but stopped short, the parking light going on.

"This can't be good." Dean turned off his own car and got out, stifling a cough and quickly walking toward the parked vehicle. He hung back at the corner a moment, trying to gauge what was going on. The pair seemed to be arguing, when suddenly the man lunged at the woman. The unmistakable glint of a knife appeared in the struggle. Without a second thought, Dean ran to the window and shattered it with his elbow. A sharp pain shot through his arm, but he ignored it. The shocked man turned to look at him as the girl screamed. Dean punched him in the jaw and slammed his head into the steering wheel before hitting the button to unlock the doors.

The girl scrambled to get out of the car, tears streaming down her face.

Dean slid across the hood, cradling his hurt arm. "Are you okay?" He grabbed the girl by the shoulder with his good hand. "Are you okay?!"

"Thank God!" she managed between sobs.

Behind them, the man started the car and peeled out. Dean moved the girl so he was between her and the speeding vehicle.

"Dammit! Are you sure you're okay?" Dean searched her face and kept checking for signs of any blood. "Do you have a cell phone?" She nodded, still sobbing with her hand to her mouth. "Call nine-one-one!" He sprinted back to the Impala as the girl got on the phone. His chest burned and he coughed harshly as he tried to catch his breath from the short run. "Son of a bitch," he hissed through his teeth as he jerked the Impala alive and sped after the other guy's quickly disappearing vehicle. His arm was throbbing and he kept having to blink away the water that was clouding his vision. He could only drive one handed, the other held tight to his chest.

The two cars raced through the city, quickly moving onto the busier streets. The man bumped over a grassy median and Dean gritted his teeth as he followed suit. He swerved to avoid oncoming traffic and sped through a red light right on the bumper of the other car. The flung around a corner and towards another intersection. Suddenly, a pick-up pulled out in front of the man's car. Dean and the man slammed on their breaks, as did the pick-up. The sudden stop sent Dean flying forward, almost hitting his head on the steering wheel. He sat back, still trying to catch his breath. With a groan, he got out of the Impala, tacking the gun from his dashboard compartment. Still cradling his hurt arm against his stomach, he skirted around to get a look at the driver. What he saw stopped him cold. A metal rod from the pick-up had flown from the truck straight through the man's windshield, embedding itself in the center of the man's chest.

Dean lowered the gun and stared open mouthed. "Holy. . ."

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><p><strong>So I'm finishing this after a very long day and am fairly sleep deprived. Sorry for any mistakes! I might reread and go back to fix things later but for right now I'm happy.<strong>

**Read and Review!**

**~abrokencastiel**


	28. Hotel

**I don't own Supernatural.**

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><p>Dean got back to the hotel in one piece, taking the long way in case the cops were looking for the other half of the car chase. Through the window, he could see Sam packing with his back to the door.<p>

"How was your day?" Dean asked as he entered.

Sam answered without looking. "You were right. It wasn't an angel. It was Gregory." Dean could hear the disappointment. "I don't know, Dean." His shoulders slumped. "I just wanted to believe so badly. It's so damn hard to do this, what we do. We're all alone, you know? And there's so much evil out there. And you. . ." Sam threw a few more rolled up clothes into his bag. "I wanted to believe there was something watching out for us. That maybe it could help us."

Exhaustion finally won the best of Dean and he sat heavily on the other bed. He jostled his arm slightly and grimaced. "Yeah, well, it's funny you said that."

"What do you mean?" Sam finally looked at his brother. His eyes widened when he saw Dean's white face and how he was holding his arm. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"Gregory's spirit gave you some pretty good information. That guy was bad news. Barely got there in time."

Sam's frown deepened.

"He's dead."

"Did you. . .?"

"No, but I'll tell you one thing. If. . ." Dean took a second, reliving the accident. "The way he died, if I hadn't seen it with my own two eyes I never would have believed it. I mean. . . I don't know what to call it."

"What? Dean, what did you see?"

"Maybe." Dean shrugged the best he could. "God's will."

Sam looked taken aback for a few seconds. "Okay, uh, wow." He shook himself, focusing back on Dean. "What happened to your arm?"

"Ah, I just broke in that guy's window. Just taken a bit longer to bounce back." Dean tried to grin but it ended in a grimace.

"Maybe I should take a look. Can you get the jacket off?"

"I'm fine, Sammy."

"Dean, please. We need to be realistic. I know that sometimes cancer. . ." Sam and Dean both grimaced. "Please, just let me look at it."

Dean hesitated, but finally relented and attempted to peel off his outer jacket. His teeth gritted as he tried to keep his arm as still as possible. He didn't even try with the shirt, just ripped off the sleeve. A big purple-blue bruise was forming at the base of his elbow. The area was swollen and a general tinge of anger covered the majority of his arm.

Sam shook his head. "This doesn't look good."

"Never had an issue before," Dean grumbled.

"Yeah, well, you weren't sick before. Can you move it?"

Dean snorted like it was no big deal and forced himself to open his elbow as wide as he could. It wasn't very far.

"I think you might have broken it. We should take you to a hospital."

"Aw, come on, Sam. We don't go to doctors for every little thing."

"This isn't a little thing. And before you weren't dying!"

The silence was palpable.

"I'm not going to die, Sammy. But I don't wanna go to the doctor's either. Besides, we just ran up a whole bunch of medical bills and I wouldn't be surprised if there was a look out for us."

Sam grudgingly agreed. "But we still need to get you help."

Dean's eyebrows knit together as he thought, then he smiled mischievously.

"What?"

"You're not gonna like it."

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><p><strong>Sorry that took a while! I had some tests and an orchestra concert. But those are all over for now.<strong>

**Will update by Tuesday for sure! Hopefully sooner!**

**FYI, I've never broken a bone. At least not that I've known for sure... there was an ankle incident but that's neither here nor there. I can still walk so that's the important thing. So sorry if that's not exactly how a broken arm works.**

**Read and Review!**

**~abrokencastiel**


	29. Dr Taylor

**I'm back! Did ya miss me?**

**I don't own Supernatural.**

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><p>The number on the sign almost glowed in the headlights' glow.<p>

"This is ridiculous. We are not doing this."

"Aw, come on, Sammy. I could have dragged you to a faith healer."

"How is this not like going to a hospital?"

"I bet it will be cheaper. And I doubt they'll have our record on file."

"I'm not calling."

Dean rolled his eyes and pulled out his own phone. "Fine." He dialed the number, making sure to *67. It rang an incredibly long time before a tired female voice answered.

"'Lo?" she asked groggily.

Dean threw the phone at Sam, who scrambled to catch it.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" The voice sounded annoyed now.

"Um, yeah, uh, hi." Sam glared at Dean.

"Who is this?"

"Uh, this is Dan. Smith. Dan Smith. Is this Dr. Taylor?"

"Yes. Is this an emergency?"

"Yes, I." Sam looked to Dean for help, but he just shrugged. "My dog. He was hit by a car."

"How long ago?"

"I don't know. I think an hour. He just came back home."

"How is he acting?"

"Acting?"

The voice sighed and a shuffling sound came over the speaker. "Yes. Is he walking? Crying? Bleeding?"

"Uh, he isn't using his arm, er, leg."

Dean helpfully made his impression of a whining dog.

"And he's crying." Sam shot Dean another look and moved away. "Though he does that a lot. He's a bit of a baby."

"Well, he did just get hit by a car. Where are you right now?"

"At the office."

"Okay. I'll be there in ten minutes. Try to keep him calm." The call ended abruptly.

Sam snapped the phone shut and turned to his brother with a very exasperated bitch face. "I cannot believe we are doing this."

"You wanted me to get help."

"But she's not going to help us."

"Sure she will."

"You are not a dog, Dean. We have no animals at all. Why would she help us?"

Dean shrugged. "We'll think of something."

"You'll think of something. This is your master plan. She's probably going to call the cops as soon as she sees us."

"I'll just wait in the car then. She'll trust you. You have that," Dean gestured up and down Sam's length. "Trust me thing." He went and laid down across the Impala's front seats as Sam perched himself on the hood. He was exhausted, but was trying to hide it. He used to be able to go days on only a few hours of sleep, but now it seemed like he needed a nap every few hours. He hated it. But he couldn't stop himself from dozing while they waited, his arm cradled to his chest.

His thoughts drifted back to the crash. The accuracy of the pipe. Sam had said that Father Gregory had been at the church until he was successful given last rights. Even ghosts couldn't be in two places at once.

A tap on the window alerted Dean to the vet's arrival. He stayed down, listening as the car door slammed and footsteps approached the Impala.

"Is he in the car?" the muffled female voice asked.

"Yeah," Sam replied. For lying to people on a daily basis he was having real trouble with this charade.

"Alright, well, get him out and bring him to the back room." The bell above the door jingled as she entered and the beginnings of an alarm could be heard before she shut it off.

Sam jerked the door open and Dean looked up at him. "I hope you have a plan."

Dean slid out and clapped his brother on the shoulder. "'Course I do."

The pair entered the office, the bell jingling again.

"Back here!" she called from down the main hallway. "Hurry!"

The brothers exchanged a glance and Sam gestured for Dean to go first. He walked down the hallway, past the two dark exam rooms with glinting metal tables, to the back room that looked like a surgery. The tile floor was cracked in places and the walls looked off white in an old sort of way.

"Put him on the table." Dr. Taylor didn't look up from where she was busily working. She was old and tiny, maybe five foot, but had an air of authority. Her white hair was cut short to her chin and was perfectly straight even though she had just been woken by the brothers less than half an hour ago. "Come on, I don't have all—" She turned and froze when she saw the two men filling the doorway. She stared for a moment, taking in the lack of dog and appearance of Dean. "There isn't a dog, is there?"

Dean shook his head.

"What are you? Druggies? All the good stuff's locked up and I'm not giving you the key."

"What? No," Sam began.

"We just need some help." Dean supplied.

"Why? Can't go to a people hospital?"

"Uh, no." Sam glanced at Dean.

The doctor's eyes narrowed.

"We don't have the money. We're desperate." Dean supplied.

"Well, I'm not a human doctor. Didn't you see the dog on the sign?"

"Please." Sam took a step forward.

"Don't come any closer." She revealed a large syringe in her right hand. "I figured something was up. There's enough tranquilizer in here to kill a horse."

"We don't want any trouble." Sam looked back at Dean with the look of 'now would be a good time for that plan of yours.'

"I've had a very long night. I tailed a creep, saved a girl's life, and I think I broke my arm in the process. I can't go to the hospital because I don't want to deal with the cops."

The woman stared at him without blinking. Dean didn't like her scrutinizing gaze, but refused to squirm. "You look like shit." Dean had to admit he was a little taken aback by the language. "You said you hurt your arm?"

"Yeah."

"Well, get over here so I can take a look."

Dean hesitated at the still brandished syringe.

"I promise not to drug you." She placed the syringe on the table behind her and reached out to take Dean's arm. "Come on." Dean slowly moved toward her, ready to jump away at the slightest sign of foul play. She pressed lightly around the bruise and toward the center. Dean flinched when she got too close to the center. "Hold still, now. I know it hurts." Dr. Taylor carefully extended the arm as far as Dean would let her and attempted to rotate his hand. She picked the syringe back up and lightly jabbed at his fingers. "Can you feel this?" Dean nodded. "Good." She released Dean's arm and he pulled it back to his chest.

"What do you think?" Sam asked.

"It's broken. Need an x-ray. I already had it all set up for Fido. Might as well use it for you." The doctor moved behind a giant machine that looked like it was older than the office. She flipped it on and it whirled to life, a light shining on the table it hovered over. "Put your elbow right under that shadow X. Flat as you can against the table." She jerked her chin at Sam. "Hey, Lumberjack, you might want to wait in the other room. This machine could mess with your manhood."

Sam's eyes widened and he shot a look at Dean before backing out of the room.

"Should I be worried?" Dean asked.

"Do you plan on procreating?"

Dean opened and shut his mouth.

"I'm sure you'll be fine. Don't move."

She clicked the button and the machine clicked before Dean could change his mind. "That wasn't so bad, right?"

"Yeah. Sure." Dean shifted uncomfortably.

"This isn't a new machine so I'll have to develop the film myself. You two stay put. And better get a story straight. I'll be expecting one." She disappeared into a small darkroom.

Dean got up and went to find Sam who had not only left the room but stepped out of the hospital entirely. "You can come back in."

"Can't be too safe."

"Yeah, well, I apparently wasn't a concern at all," Dean said dryly.

"Where is she?"

"Developing the film. She's gonna wanna know what happened."

"What are we going to tell her?"

Dean shrugged. "I was hoping you had some ideas."

* * *

><p><strong>I am so sorry this is later than I said. Finals caught up with me. That is all over now though so things should be fine.<strong>

**Hope you enjoyed this, it's a bit longer. And what can I say, I have a soft spot for sassy old ladies!**

**Read and Review!**

**~abrokencastiel**


	30. Blue Paw Prints

**I don't own supernatural.**

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><p>Dean sat on the x-ray table, well away from the area where his picture had been taken. Sam stayed on the other side of the room. The two stayed silent, each contemplating what they could tell Dr. Taylor when she emerged from the dark room. Dean tried to stifle a cough, but it beat itself out of him.<p>

"Here." Sam crossed the room to hand his brother a handkerchief. "Haven't used it. Swear."

Dean hesitated a moment before accepting and wiped his mouth and shirt sleeve as free as blood drops as he could. He tried to keep the red out of Sam's sight, but he had no doubt his brother knew.

A beeping inside the developing room drew the boys' attention. The door swung open and Dr. Taylor used her foot to slam it shut behind her.

"Okey dokey. Let's see what we got." She slapped the picture on the light display and squinted at the glowing bones. Sam and Dean joined her, peering over her smaller shoulders to get a look at the picture. "Well, I can see your problem."

"Is it broken?" Sam leaned closer to try and see better.

"Hold your horses. Not lookin' at that yet. What I can plainly see is that your bones are weaker than they should be. All that darker area should be a nice white like these areas here." She gestured as she spoke.

"Didn't drink enough mild when I was younger." Dean's lips twitched, but he couldn't exactly call it a joke.

"That's a pretty thin cover." She suddenly jabbed at the picture. "Here."

"What is it?"

"See this?" She ran her hand along an almost invisible ridge just below the elbow joint. "That would be the fracture. Good thing there hasn't been any movement and only the ulna broke, otherwise I'd have to cut you open. That wouldn't have been pretty." She started bustling, collecting supplies from all over the room.

"What are you going to do?"

"Make you a cast. 'Course, I only have animal supplies. Because I'm a vet." She shot a stare at Dean.

"You're really not going to drop that."

"Nope. Just like I'm not buying your milk story."

"Hey, I—"

"He has cancer." Sam blurted it before Dean could try for a better excuse. "Found out almost two months ago."

Months. Dean had tried to avoid thinking about time. He'd forgotten how quickly it was running out. "Sam," he warned harshly.

"He refused treatment and we don't exactly have a good record with the hospital he was diagnosed at. We're worried they would know about our little disappearing act and try to drag us back. He doesn't. . . We don't have that kind of time."

"So what are you spending your time doing? Being vigilantes?" Dr. Tayler raised an eyebrow as she tore pieces of medical tape off with her teeth.

"Something like that." Sam chanced a glance at Dean and was met by a cold stare. "What?"

"We tellin' everyone our story now?"

"She knew something was up. Lying wasn't going to get us anywhere."

Both of Dr. Taylor's eyebrows raised now but she stayed silent.

"This is family business, Sam."

"No, Dean. You just say it is because you want to push everyone away. But you don't want to die, I know that. You just keep trying to act all uncaring around other people."

"Sam." Dean's teeth were visibly grating.

"I'm not going to ignore the problem anymore. I've kept quiet for way too long. And you can't ignore it either. I mean, the reason we are here is because you tried to do something on your own when you can't anymore."

"What are you saying?"

"Have you looked at yourself? You are half the person you used to be. You're wasting away. If you want help you need to get it sooner rather than later and stop pretending you don't care."

Dean clenched his jaw. He knew Sam was right. He kept saying he didn't want to die, but he ended up pulling back. Why have hope?

"Let someone help you. Let me help you."

"Or me." Dr. Taylor lightly interrupted before the argument could get more heated. "I don't need to know the specifics of what's been going on to get the idea. And you two can feel free to argue it out later. Right now we need to get that arm stable so you two can go on saving lives or whatever the Hell it was you were doing. Now sit back down on that table." Dean complied. "This will probably be a little less than comfortable, but it will suffice."

"Right, right, you only have animal crap."

"You're catching on." She brought out a weird blue splint, bowl shaped at one end and extending straight out. She gently placed his elbow in the bowl so his arm sat in the concave straight. It was a little long and she marked the spot with a marker. "Alright, lumberjack. You've got to help me cut this. I'm frail and weak."

"I don't believe that for a second," Sam chuckled lightly. He grabbed the cable cutters Dr. Taylor pointed to and quickly snipped the splint at the mark.

"Good thing I still have these Great Dane splints. Don't usually keep a lot of them around." She went back to Dean and remeasured. "Good job. Now come over here. I'm going to need all hands on deck. Hold this on. Gently. Like you actually like him."

Dean rolled his eyes. He would much rather have patched himself up.

"Do you want the purple with the blue paw prints or the pink with the green fish?"

"Paw prints, by all means." Dean sighed as she started wrapping his arm first in gauze, then in the patterned ace bandage material. Sam held his arm with as much determined concentration Dean had shown when they were kids and Dean patched up Sam.

"Now don't get this wet. And don't take it off. It's not a cast, but it should do the job. Hopefully. I'm a v—."

"Vet not a doctor, yeah yeah."

She shot a glare at Dean and he shut up. "No heavy lifting, no fighting, no running, no jumping. No vigilante-ing."

Dean raised an eyebrow.

"You heard me. Take a break." She paused a second as she taped the bandage down securely. "Your lumberjack here is right. You look like you've been through Hell."

"You should see the other guy."

Dr. Taylor's eyes narrowed. "You teach him a lesson?"

"Uh, not exactly me, but he won't be bothering anyone else."

She raised an eyebrow but didn't push. "I'm sure I'll learn about it in the paper." She patted him lightly on the head. "What a good patient you are. Now I want you to stop as soon as you can and get a sling for that arm. Still as Lake Placid, you hear?"

"Loud and clear."

"Good. Now I'm going to ignore the fact I heard you boys' names and if you get caught you don't know mine. I don't need another strike on my record. I once released a lab full of dogs, rats, mice, and monkeys in downtown New York." She explained at the brother's quizzical expressions. "I used to be quite the rebel in my day."

"And on that note, I think we'd better get out of your hair."

"No offense," she said as she started to tidy up the exam room. "But next time you need a midnight emergency vet, bark up someone else's tree. I need my beauty sleep."

Dean looked at his colorful bandage. "Thanks, Doc."

"You boys be careful doing whatever it is you do. I'm sure you can show yourselves out." A pause. "Hope everything works out."

Sam thanked her before leading the way. Sam pulled up short at the register and pulled the money he had out and put it on the counter. His head cocked to one side and he half smirked. Wordlessly he pointed to the top of a filing cabinet. An angel sat on top cradling a cat with a dog at its feet.

"Come on, Sammy, I've had enough of angels for the day."

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><p><strong>Hey all you lovely folks,<strong>

**Hope you don't mind I didn't go into terrible detail about the splinting and what not. I know how to do it but describing it is a bit tedious. Also hope Dr. Taylor was ok for everyone. I may be biased, but I really like her and her snarky ways.**

**Thanks for all the reading and review, keep it up!**

**Peace Love and Diet Coke to all,**

**~abrokencastiel**


	31. Sling

**I don't own Supernatural.**

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><p>Dean hated getting help. And he seemed to be needing more than his fair share in the last few hours.<p>

"Stop fidgeting," Sam ordered as he continued to mess with the strap of the newly purchased sling. "There. Now is that too tight?"

"It's fine," Dean said too harshly.

"Come on, Dean. You're the one that has to live with it."

"Could be a bit looser," Dean grudgingly admitted.

Sam barely hid his smug face. "Now was that so hard?"

The eldest Winchester rolled his eyes and let himself into the passenger side of the Impala. Sam joined him in the driver's seat, but didn't start the car. Dean braced himself for the inevitable heart-to-heart.

"Dean, I—."

"I know," Dean stopped Sam before he could say any more. "And I know that too," he said when Sam opened his mouth again. "I've been running away. Pushing you away."

Sam raised an eyebrow.

"And I know I'm an idiot."

Sam nodded in agreement.

"I just. . . I don't want to try to live and then end up dying anyway." Dean shrugged. "To me it seemed easier to not try at all."

"What makes you think that we can't save you?"

"You heard what the Doc said. No cure. Just an extended game time."

"No offense to her, Dean, but we know there's a lot more out there than just medicine."

The corner of Dean's lips twitched like he wanted to smile, but he couldn't help but hear Cas's words echo in his head. That it was time to give up. Whether it was just his subconscious or something greater, he couldn't stop thinking about it. Even though he seemed to have successfully put the angel out of his head. "I don't know, Sam. I just don't know."

"There's always hope. Don't give up on me just yet."

Dean smiled sadly. "Always the optimist, right Sammy?"

Sam smiled and started the engine without a word.

"Where we headin'?"

"Bobby'll know of something. Besides, we need a vacation so you can heal up."

* * *

><p><strong>OK guys, we are nearing the end I think. I can feel it looming. Still a few more chaps, but I think I have a for sure plan now so I will try to update quicker than I have been.<strong>

**Thanks for Reading and Reviewing!**

**~abrokencastiel**


	32. Bobby's

**I don't own Supernatural.**

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><p>Bobby hung up the phone and ran his hands over his tired eyes before crossing the last name off his list. His list that was not nearly long enough. He'd called in every favor he had. Every friend, friend of friends, and even a few enemies. Not even Rufus had been able to give him much information. All of the leads had led to a dead end. In the last case, literally. The woman who Rufus had suggested had been dead for almost five years.<p>

The front door creaked open, allowing a rectangle of sunlight to enter with the two brothers.

"You sure I've never shown you how to change the fanbelt before?" Dean asked.

"Never."

"Then we really need to step up the teaching." Dean grinned over at Bobby. "Hey, Bobby, you mind if I let Sam do some handy work on the clunkers you got?"

"Naw. Just don't get 'em workin' too well. I don't want to bother with sellin' 'em." Bobby tried to hide his disappointment, but the boys weren't fooled in the least.

"What's the matter?" Sam frowned.

"I called people."

"No luck? How many do you have left?" Sam came closer to take a look at the list.

"That was it. The only leads I had."

"Did you call Ash?"

"Ash, Rufus, everbody. That was all I could get."

Dean had been strangely quiet during the whole exchange, absentmindedly rubbing his elbow through the sling. He managed a tight smile as Sam turned to look at him. "We tried, Sammy."

Sam looked between Dean and Bobby incredulously. His jaw clenched and he finally stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

"Thanks, Bobby." Dean nodded at the older man and headed for the stairs.

Bobby hated a lot of things. Wendigos, rugarus, and coleslaw were near the top, but seeing the boys hurt surpassed the rest on every level. And seeing Dean act tough through the pain and fear broke his heart. Ever since John, hell, even before John died, Bobby had felt responsible for the brothers. They were like his own kids. And he had no way to help them. He only hoped Sam wouldn't do something stupid get himself in trouble trying to help his brother.

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><p><strong>Will Update Again Tonight<strong>

**The End is Near**


	33. The Cross-Roads

**As Promised, a timely update. After all my empty promises this feels nice.**

**I don't own Supernatural.**

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><p>Dean let the water drip from his face while he stared at the drain. This was the reason he didn't want to get his hopes up. The feeling of failure and defeat was more than he could take. He leaned close to the mirror and studied his reflection. The sunken eyes, hollow cheeks, and the pale hue reminded him of something from his days watching television as a kid in motels.<p>

"Skeletor," he finally decided on with a curt nod. That was it. Sam could definitely pass for He-man with the hair.

"I do not understand that reference."

Dean's eyes darted to the reflection of a man standing behind him. He whirled around, his breath catching. "What the HELL!" he tried to say, but all he could manage was a horrible cough that wracked his entire body. While he tried to gain control of himself, he tried to shake away what had to be a delusion.

In front of him, uncomfortably close in the small bathroom, was Castiel. His black hair was more disheveled compared to what Dean remembered from his dreams, but the trenchcoat and suit were impeccably similar down to the shoes. Cas waited patiently for Dean to calm down, not saying a word as Dean spit the gob of blood into his handkerchief.

"What the hell?" Dean repeated again.

Cas tilted his head and frowned. "You blocked me from your mind, so I had no choice but to come in this form."

Dean blinked a few more times as he tried to understand what exactly was going on. "Okay, but wh—how are you. . ." He gave up and waited, still not sure it was real.

"It is possible for me to exist in a more . . . temporal form. It is just easier to use dreams. Coming to earth takes time."

"What? Saint Peter gotta write you a hall pass?"

"Something like that."

"So why are you here now?"

"Because your brother is about to make a huge mistake."

"What do you—" Before Dean could finish his question, Cas had quickly closed the distance and touched two fingers to Dean's forehead like he had in the dreams.

A cold rush of icy wind stole the air around him. For a few eternal seconds, he couldn't breathe at all, just felt the rush of wind and a pressing force on all sides of his body. He didn't open his eyes until the world returned to normal and he could suck in a full breath. The lack of air set off another coughing fit. His lungs burned and he couldn't get enough oxygen. He bent over, struggling to get more air, but unable to fill his lungs between hacking coughs. His vision began to become fuzzy. Passing out seemed inevitable when he felt a hand on his shoulder, and from its touch spread a warmth that entered his chest and quickly calmed his chaotic lungs.

He looked up to see Cas standing over him, his hand gripping his shoulder. "You do that?"

"Yes. I'm aware that that may have not been the easiest experience in your condition, but time is of the essence." Cas released his shoulder and quickly strode toward a nearby roadway.

"You said something's happening to Sam?" Dean quickly caught up, feeling better than he had in a long time.

"Sam is doing something to himself. I believe it would be in your best interest to stop him." The pair emerged onto the roadway and Dean followed Cas's gaze to a crossroads. The Impala was parked a little ways away, its trunk open. Sam knelt in the middle of the road, scooping dirt back over a hole.

"Son of a bitch." Dean was sprinting toward his brother before he even saw the woman appear. Sam turned to her and she smiled broadly. "SAM!"

His brother whipped around in shock. "Dean?"

The cross-roads demon got a very annoyed look on her face as her eyes flashed red, but it suddenly changed to one of fear. In between blinks, she disappeared.

"What the hell, Sammy?" Dean reached Sam out of breath.

"I, I didn't. How did you get here?"

Dean ignored the question. "Why would you do something so stupid?"

"Dean—"

"No. No you listen to me. I know that you want to save me. And I don't want to die. But I don't want you to do anything reckless. I never wanted you to do anything like this."

"I just didn't see another option."

"No, Sam. Never anything like this." Dean's breathing and heart rate were picking up again. "I can't be the reason you end up like Mom. Or Dad. Or Jess."

"Dean," Sam moved his mouth but no words came out.

"Cas says it's time and I think he's right."

Sam frowned. "Cas?"

Dean looked back to point out the angel, but he was gone. "He was . . ." Dean shook his head. His head was beginning to spin again. The effects of the quick transportation reoccurring.

"Come on." Sam reached out and took Dean's arm. "We should get back." Worry crinkled his brow. "You're not looking too good."

"He was just here." He let Sam lead him back to the Impala where he sat heavily in the passenger's seat. The edges of his vision were blurring as he coughed and tried to suck in breaths. "I swear I'm not crazy," he managed.

"I know, I know. Just, calm down." As Sam drove away from the crossroads, away from what would have been a terrible fate, Dean tried in vain to find the angel in the country side.

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><p><strong>Of course Sam would try something like that. Right? Right.<strong>

**Like preciously stated, end is near. To Quote Jurassic Park: Hold onto your butts.**

**~abrokencastiel**


	34. The Clunker

**Don't own Supernatural.**

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><p>Sleeping was the only thing Dean could do for days. Whatever it was that damn angel had done, it had sure done a number on him. Sam was there every time he woke up, offering to help however he could.<p>

As he woke again, he kept his eyes closed, half wishing he could go back to sleep. The ache in his lungs made his chest heavy. He finally cracked his eyes open to see an empty room. Instantly alert, Dean struggled to sit upright, pausing to catch his breath before getting to his feet. The walk down stairs to the main room exhausted him all over again and he collapsed on the couch.

"Sleeping Beauty finally awake I see." Bobby entered from the kitchen and stood over Dean, a concerned look on his face despite the snide comment. "How're ya feelin'?" He handed Dean one of the two beers he held.

"Where's Sam?" Dean didn't bother answering Bobby.

"Taking a nap. He spends all of his time sittin' next to you. And workin' on that car."

"Baby?" Dean jumped immediately to horrid pictures of updated sound systems and navigation systems.

"No. The clunker."

Dean smiled in relief. "It better be running by the time I get out there." He started to chuckle and as usual ended in a harsh cough. The handkerchief he usually kept was missing and he could taste the tang of blood in his mouth. Bobby must have sensed Dean's discomfort and handed him a tissue from the desk. "Thanks," he mumbled.

There was a long silence while the pair sipped their beers. Finally Bobby moved to sit at his desk. "So. Sam said you showed up just in time."

"Yeah, he tell you what he was doin'?"

"He did," the older man said gruffly. "Also said you appeared outta nowhere and since I never saw you leave this place I'm wondering how exactly you managed it."

"Don't remember."

"Right. You just happened to show up at the same crossroads a demon was at."

Dean frowned. "You think I made a deal?"

"You have to admit it was pretty suspicious."

"What do you think I asked for? Huh? I'm still dying over here. No magical healing. No demon deal." Dean forced himself to stand again and head toward the door.

"Where are you going?"

"Make sure Sam isn't breaking the clunker." The screen door slammed behind him and refused to show any weakness until he reached the clunker. With a groan, he eased himself on a workbench and took another gulp of his beer. It was hot and he was already sweating. The air was muggy and hung heavy in his chest. He couldn't remember the day, but summer was ending. His time was ending. But for the moment he could enjoy the feeling of a cold beer in his hand and the comforting smell of cars. His eyes slipped closed and he allowed his breathing to slow.

"Dean?" The voice of his brother roused him what felt like only moments later.

"Hey, Sammy." Dean readjusted and pushed himself up from the bench. "Hear you've been workin' while I've been out."

Sam looked like he was going to say something, but hesitated and shook his head. "Yeah. Uh, I think I've got it almost ready. I was going to surprise you."

"Well, let's take a look see." Dean leaned over the engine with Sam and listened as his brother went over the details of what he'd done. Every once in a while he'd point out little things his brother missed, or ask a specific question to see if Sam really understood what he'd done. "Not too bad," Dean finally said, sitting back down. Standing had worn him out all over again. "Couple more years and you might even be decent."

There was a lull. Both brothers knew what they needed to talk about, but neither could find the words. Finally Sam broke the silence. "Dean, I'm. . . I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that."

"What?" Dean knew what. He wanted Sam to say it.

"Tried to make a deal." Sam looked down at his brother. "But I didn't see another way. We've tried everything else."

"I know, Sammy, but there are some things that are just plain stupid. I don't want you to ever do anything like that for me. I couldn't live with myself if you did."

"Guess it was a good thing you were there to stop me."

"Yeah."

Sam waited expectantly but Dean offered no answer. "You know it was really weird for you to pop up like that. No car, miles from Bobby's."

"Guess so."

"How'd you get out there?"

"Can't remember."

Sam snorted. "Right. Nothing to do with a Cas?"

Dean did his best to hide his sudden tenseness. "No idea what you're talking about."

"That's what you said, right after you ran up. About Cas helping you or something like that."

Dean shrugged. He didn't want to try and explain an angel. Especially not after the wanna be angel Padre. Sam would probably just think he was delusional. Dean took another swig of beer.

"Fine." Sam sighed and ran a hand over his face. "Let's go back in. You should probably get something to eat." Sam held out a hand and helped Dean up.

"Not really hungry."

"Dude, you haven't eaten for three days. I will force feed you if I have to."

"If I see a single airplane spoon coming my way there is going to be hell to pay."

The corner of Sam's lip twitched up. "Then you better enjoy whatever I can scrounge up from Bobby's kitchen."

Dean grimaced. "Beans it is."

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry about the break guys! I'm getting into senior year college and between preparing for dental school (hopefully) and working all the time I didn't have as much time as I wanted to write. On the plus side, I should get all caught up soon.<strong>

**Thanks for stickin' with me, I swear I didn't forget this!**

**~abrokencastiel**


	35. Cereal Sleep

**Still don't own Supernatural.**

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><p>The days dragged on. Dean eventually took off the splint and ditched the sling saying his arm itched and there was no point in him wearying it. It still hurt, but no more than the rest of him. The brothers would spend an hour or two working on the car, until Dean got too tired, then they'd move inside to help Bobby with research for other hunters. Sam took to it more, pouring over books and websites to find obscure information.<p>

"Here." Sam deposited an old book on Bobby's desk and pointed out the information on skinwalkers the older man had been looking for. Dust floated up from the pages in the beams of light from the windows.

"Good work. Harry'll be glad." Bobby jotted down the information in his notebook. "Dean still workin'?"

"In his own way I guess." Sam looked back at the kitchen table where his brother was fitfully asleep, breathing erratically. "He lasted about five minutes."

Bobby leaned back and ran a hand over his face. "Some things never change."

Dean suddenly jerked and began coughing, reaching for his bottle of beer, now lukewarm. He missed the bottle at first, but got it on the second try.

"Wouldn't water be better?" Sam walked toward the sink.

"Nope. Beer works perfect." Dean managed a half-smile between coughs and drinks.

Sam ground his teeth but kept his retort to himself. Instead, he gathered a bowl and poured a heap of cereal and milk in. "You need to eat." He deposited the bowl in front of his brother and crossed his arms waiting for Dean to dig in.

"I'm really not hungry."

"When's the last time you ate? You missed dinner last night and I'm pretty sure you skipped breakfast."

"Really, Sammy. I'm not hungry."

"At least a few bites."

Dean groaned as he unwillingly raised the spoon. He managed to chew and swallow half of the cardboard cereal. "There, ya happy?"

Sam frowned but said nothing.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna turn in for the night."

"It's five-thirty."

"And I'm tired." Dean stood and wobbled. He tried to shake his head to clear it, but that only made the feeling of vertigo worse. He closed his eyes and slowly opened them again, gripping the table and his chair tightly. The world slowly stopped spinning.

"Dean?"

"I'm fine." He pushed off and tried to walk a straight line to the stairs. His stomach churned as he made his way upstairs, rejecting the little cereal he had eaten. The bed creaked as he collapsed on it with closed eyes. Maybe if he ignored the sickening feeling, it would go away. It was much too bright to actually go asleep with the blinds open, but he didn't want to risk moving. Instead he lay there with his eyes closed and tried to think of anything but his stomach.

He eventually cracked an eye and looked at the bedside clock. It was only six. No doubt Sam would give him grief about this tomorrow. But he just couldn't stand being awake any longer. Everything hurt with a dull, deep ache that no meds helped, no matter which or how much he took. And he was just so tired. All the time. If Sam or Bobby didn't wake him up every morning, he would probably just keep lying there.

The turmoil of his stomach reached a boiling point and he gave up, moving as quickly as he could into the bathroom. He barely made it to the toilet in time before all the partially digested cereal came right back up. "Dammit, Sam," Dean groaned as he flushed the toilet and leaned back against the tub. His mouth tasted horrible, but he couldn't bother with standing to go to the sink. The floor was just so wonderfully cool and the bathroom was so much darker than his room. The room started spinning again and he closed his eyes against it. His arm was throbbing and he couldn't decide if his head, chest, or arm was more deserving of his attention.

"Dean? Are you alright?" Sam was calling from downstairs, but Dean didn't bother to answer. He just wanted to sleep. "Dean?"

Sam's footsteps thundered up the stairs. The floor creaked as Sam looked in the room. Dean didn't open his eyes, more felt his brothers presence in the bathroom door. "Dean?" He felt hands on his shoulders, shaking him lightly.

"Told you I wasn't hungry," Dean managed groggily.

"Come on. Let's get you in bed." Sam helped pull him to his feet and walked him back to bed supporting him under his good arm. Dean kept his eyes closed the whole way, relying completely relying on his brother. He knew that the world wouldn't stop spinning while he was moving. The nausea of his stomach had been replaced by a sharp pain and he groaned as Sam eased him down.

"No more cereal."

"No more cereal," Sam agreed. "Hey, don't go to sleep yet. You don't want to sleep in those clothes."

"I like my clothes," Dean murmured, already half-asleep.

"Come on, Dean." Sam pulled Dean into a sitting position.

Dean sighed but opened his eyes and removed his jacket and shoes with Sam's help. "The rest stays on," he groaned as he let himself fall back on the bed.

"Dean-."

"Nope. Too tired." He started coughing and rolled to his side to keep from choking.

"Did you take your medicine?"

Dean nodded. He thought he remembered taking them, but even if he didn't, he didn't want to. He'd have to get back up. It didn't matter anyway, the pain meds did little now.

Dean felt Sam's hand on his shoulder as he descended into floating blackness that was the closest he could get to sleep.

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><p><strong>Look at that, two chapters in one day. Don't get used to it, it's a very rare occurrence.<strong>

**Read and Review!**

**~abrokencastiel**


	36. The End

_The lake was still besides a slight breeze that sent a ripple of water up to the pier where Dean sat. The wind ruffled his hair and he squinted his closed eyes as he woke to the bright sun. Strange, he didn't remember coming to this lake. It looked familiar, but he couldn't place it completely. A kid laughed from somewhere on the shore. He cracked open his eyes and looked around._

_"Sam?" Dean called and sat up in the low wooden chair. There was no sign of anyone, much less his brother. "Sammy?" Dean stood, surprised when he became suddenly dizzy. He grabbed the back of the chair. "Bobby?" His chest hurt and he pressed a hand to it. "Sam! Bobby! Where are you?"_

_The sky was slowing getting darker, the breeze turning into more of a wind. The once placid lake rocked with heavier waves._

_"Anybody!" Dean fell to one knee, still clinging to the chair. In desperation, he called out the only other name that came to his head. "Cas? CAS!" The same strange wrenching feeling in his brain from before. It made him nauseous. He groaned and bent over, his forehead pressing onto the wooden planks._

_A whoosh. "Dean." Hands on his shoulders, pushing him back upright. Their touch made pain and dizziness immediately disappear. Cas's bright blue eyes considered him from under dark eyebrows. "Dean," he repeated. "It's time."_

_Dean forced himself to stand, the angel rising from his squatted position as well. "What?"_

_"It's time." Cas gave a sad half-smile, one hand still resting on the hunter's shoulder. Behind the angel was the Impala. Dean could feel the pull. He wanted to go to the car. To get in and drive away to where ever he needed to go to be free. He started walking forward with Castiel. With every step he felt stronger. But a sudden thought of Sam made him stop suddenly._

_"No." Dean shook his head. "No, it's not. I still have. . ." He tried to remember how long the doctor had given him, how long it'd been since they had talked._

_"Please, Dean. Don't make this any harder."_

_Dean backed away, out of the angel's reach. "No, I have to say goodbye to Sam."_

_"Dean-."_

_"I need to make sure he'll be okay." Dean looked around for an exit. Only the once again still lake surrounded him. The exit to land was blocked by Cas's trenchcoated form._

_"Dean there isn't time."_

_"No." Dean set his jaw. "There's always a bit more time."_

_"You're in a lot of pain. You can't take this."_

_"I feel fine."_

_"You've shut down. I'm blocking what you should be feeling."_

_"Then keep blocking it."_

_"I can't once you wake up."_

_"I'll deal, dammit." Dean clenched his fists. "You can't stop me."_

_Cas opened his mouth to say something, but Dean turned away, running straight for the lake waters._

_.._

The pain hit first. The sharp stabs throughout his body. His breath caught, what little he could get only seeming to amplify the feeling. Tears sprung to his eyes. It would have been so much easier to go with Cas. He forced himself to sit up. Then he forced himself to stand. The nausea hit him like a truck and he couldn't stop himself from dry heaving where he stood. It was a good thing he'd already emptied his stomach. He coughed long and harshly into his arm, spraying his shirt with blood.

Dean made himself walk, one small agonizing step after another, the room tilting to the right. He somehow made it to the stairs, steeling himself for the trek down. One step, then he was falling, tumbling, down the flight to the bottom, slamming into the wall with a groan. His hearing was muffled behind his pounding head but he could feel Bobby's footsteps coming toward him.

A mumbling accompanied hands on his shoulders, pulling him up to lean against the wall. They started to let go, but when he slumped, they caught and held him up. More mumbling that he couldn't understand. The darkness was so much better than this. . .

No. He had to stay awake. His eyes flew back open, searching around landing on Bobby. He started to say something, but the nausea struck him again and he dry heaved over the steps. It quickly dissolved into more coughing, blood speckling the ground.

"Come on, Dean." Bobby pulled the taller man up and supported him to the couch.

"Sam," Dean managed to croak out.

"I'll get him, I'll get him. Just calm down." Bobby moved out of Dean's line of sight, the screen door opening.

Dean squeezed his eyes shut against the pain that washed over him again, turning toward the back of the couch and wrapping his arms around his clenching chest.

"Dean?" He heard Sam's voice and felt his presence next to the couch.

The elder Winchester forced himself to unwind, pulling his eyes open. "Hey. . . Sammy." Dean winced as he moved to look at his brother.

Sam was speechless for a moment. He seemed to know what was coming.

"Need to. . . tell. . ."

"Dean, stop."

Dean shook his head weakly. "Time."

"No." Sam shook his head vehemently. "We still have time."

Another bout of coughing shook Dean and Sam helped move him so he didn't choke.

Bobby hovered in the background, a hand over the lower half of his face.

Dean grimaced. His vision was beginning to blur. "Please." He took a moment to recover. "Just need to say. . . 's okay." His green eyes met his brother's hazel ones. "'S okay."

Tears started leaking out of Sam's eyes. He grabbed onto his brother's hand, calloused from years of rough work, and bent his head to it.

"I'm not. . . scared. . . anymore."

"I am," Sam murmured.

Dean's lips twitched a bit. "I know." He squeezed his brother's hand as best he could. "Don't be." His eyes drifted past his brother to the back of the room. "We're. . . gonna be okay." His eyes began to slide shut, his breathing shallow and ragged.

Bobby stepped up and put a hand on Sam's shoulder.

"Dean!" Sam shook Dean's shoulder desperately, dragging him back from unconsciousness.

His eyes searched for a moment, but ended up back on the far side of the room. "I can't. . . stay, Sammy." A cocky grin spread across his face in a sad shadow of what it once was. "The angel of death has come for me."

"I am not the angel of death," a deep voice said from back in the room. Instantly, Bobby and Sam were up and on edge. Sam pulled the demon blade out and had it at the ready.

"Who the Hell are you?" Bobby demanded.

"You can see him?" Dean asked breathlessly from the couch.

"'Course I can. I ain't blind. Now who are you?" Bobby asked again.

"My name is Castiel." The dark haired man moved forward and Sam moved to stop him. A tug on his hand that was still holding onto Dean gave him pause.

"He's good." Dean managed before going into another coughing fit.

Sam frowned. "Castiel?" A memory surfaced. "Cas." He turned back to the strange man. "You're the one who stopped me."

"Your brother stopped you, I simply helped." The man moved forward again, this time Sam moved aside a bit.

"What the Hell is this?" Bobby looked between the boys and the stranger.

"He's been watching out for Dean."

"I'm an angel of the Lord." Cas seemed ignorant of the unbelieving looks on Bobby and Sam's faces. The two turned to watch as Cas put a hand on the now unconscious Dean's arm. His blue eyes didn't blink as he stared intently at the prone form, his brow furrowed.

Suddenly the green eyes flicked open and Dean focused on the figure leaning over him. "Cas, 'bout time you showed up."

"It's time, Dean."

Dean hesitated, glancing at Sam and Bobby.

"Dean?" Sam stared at his brother with a tear stained face.

"Cas will take care of me, Sammy," Dean managed in one rush. "Bobby." Dean looked at the older man with pleading eyes.

"I'll watch out for him. I always have," Bobby assured.

Sam knelt next to his brother again, tears running down his face. "I'm sorry, Dean."

"No." Dean smiled slightly. "I'm proud of you Sam." Then nodded at Cas. "Ready."

The angel nodded back, placing two fingers against Dean's forehead like he always did. Dean closed his eyes as a warm darkness took over.

Castiel slowly stood straight, his hand falling back to his side. Sam didn't move from his brother's side. Bobby moved and put his hands on Sam's shoulders, tears flowing down his own face.

After a few moments, Castiel looked at the other Winchester. "I'm sorry."

"Are you really-." Sam hesitated. "Will he be okay?"

Cas's blue eyes didn't blink or hesitate. "Yes."

..

_It was the lake again. The pier and the clam water. Dean stood from the chair and looked without hesitation toward the shore where he knew the Impala would be waiting._

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><p><strong>This was the hardest chapter to write.<strong>

**I hope everyone enjoyed the story, even though it was sad. This started out as a very short one shot and now it's this! Thank you all for the reviews and follows and favorites. I love you all!**

**~abrokencastiel**


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